


The Cheat Code

by FairyGodmoose



Series: The Cheat Code [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-03-10
Updated: 2005-05-05
Packaged: 2018-03-13 23:39:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 36,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3400481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairyGodmoose/pseuds/FairyGodmoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a mysterious phone call, a preteen girl named Emma is sucked into Kingdom Hearts. She just wants to mess around, but she's been enlisted to fight the Heartless!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Auntie Em

**Author's Note:**

> I originally published this series on Fanfiction.net in 2005, when I was eleven years old. Thanks to a fit of nostalgia, I decided to repost it on AO3. Reviews and critique are always welcome, just know that you're lobbying any suggestions a decade after the fact.

"Hey, look! It's Auntie Em!" A group of boys, howling with laughter, were pointing at a dark-haired young girl sitting on a swing in the school yard. She was clutching a dark blue backpack and glaring at the boys over a pair of sequined, horn-rimmed glasses. "Auntie Em, Auntie Em, a tornado!" one of them squealed in a falsetto.

The girl held her backpack even tighter. "My name…is Emma…" she whispered.

"Oh, Auntie Em!"

"My name is Emma…"

"Auntie Em, I had the most wonderful dream…but then I saw a little old lady staring at me!"

Emma stood abruptly, dropping her backpack. "MY NAME IS EMMA!" she yelled.

The boys immediately stopped their jeering. The ringleader looked as if he was about to make a smart remark, but his eyes fell on Emma's backpack instead. "Well, what do you know? Auntie Em plays baby games!" He snatched the backpack and laughed at the design; a cartoon drawing of Sora smiled back at him, wielding the Kingdom Key. "Aren't you a little old for this?"

"Hey!" Emma protested. She tried pulling her precious backpack free from the boy's grip, but this tactic didn't work, so she threw several pitiful punches at him. "Kingdom Hearts isn't a baby game!" she growled. "Square Enix made Kingdom Hearts, and they made Final Fantasy, too! All eleven so far are rated T!"

Emma stumbled backwards as the boy let go of the backpack and chuckled, rubbing his rope-burnt fists. "And Disney made Winnie-the-Pooh, stupid." Emma, for lack of a better idea, growled again, then ran off the school yard, holding her backpack as if it was a baby. "YEAH, RUN HOME, OLD LADY! BACK OFF!"

… … …

 _I can't believe those jerks…at least I'm home. Now I can sit back, relax, and play Kingdom Hearts!_ Emma walked up to a white house with red and blue trim. She started to ring the doorbell, but a note taped to the right of it caught her eye.  _Don't tell me Mom's working late again tonight…_  She grabbed it, then looked it over.

_Dear Emma,_

_I'm sorry, but I won't be home for few more hours. I think I can trust you to stay home alone again. The house key is in its usual hiding spot. If I'm not here by dinnertime, there's some chicken in the fridge; you just need to heat it up._

_Love ya, baby!_

_-Mommy_

_P.S. (Don't play that game too much. King of Hearts, isn't it? It's bad for your eyes. I don't want to have to run over to Pearle Vision and get you new glasses!)_

Emma sighed as she adjusted her infamous glasses.  _I wish you WOULD get me new glasses…Kingdom Hearts it is, then!_ Smiling mischievously, the preteen picked up a porcelain flowerpot, produced the key, and went into the house.

… … …

 _Okay, let's see…I just beat Clayton and Stealth Sneak…all that's left to do is seal Deep Jungle!_  Emma had beaten this game about ten times. She always restarted to see how long it took to do it again. Suddenly, the phone rang.  _What? Now?_ Emma got up and walked over to the blaring phone.  _Let's see who's bothering me now…hmm?_ The caller ID was blank.  _Isn't it at least supposed to say 'unknown caller'?_ She nervously picked up the phone. "…hello?"

"I have a message for you, Miss Baecker. You might want to copy this down…"

Emma stared.  _Who is this guy? And how does he know my name?_

"Miss Baecker? Pay attention!"

Emma snapped back to attention as the strange man reprimanded her. "Yes, sir!"

"All right. Now, this is what you need to write down. Up. Up. Down. Down. Left. Right. Left. Right." Emma apprehensively scrawled the directions onto a piece of paper. "Triangle. Square. X. Circle. Start. Put this in right where you are."

"Uh…what…?"

"In Kingdom Hearts. You are playing Kingdom Hearts at the moment, are you not?"

"Uh…yeah…?"

The voice laughed. "Don't be so nervous, Miss Baecker. Just put the cheat code in. You have a habit of talking to the screen, correct?"

Emma's face got red. "Kinda."

The man chuckled. "Be careful what you say, then." He then hung up.

 _Okay, that was really weird…it can't do any harm to put the code in, though, can it?_ Emma walked back to her PS2, and padded it in. She stared blankly at the screen. Nothing happened.  _I guess it was a prank call. But…how did that guy know my name?_

… … …

After a few minutes, Emma got to the Cavern of Hearts to have Sora lock Deep Jungle. Her eyes were practically glued to the screen. Sora turned to face Donald. "Sorry about…what I said."

"I'm sorry too," Donald admitted.

Emma started her usual habit of talking to the screen. "YOU GOT OVER YOUR ARGUMENT THAT QUICKLY? MAN, THAT'S SAPPY!" she yelled. "YOU GUYS ARE SUCH WEIRDOES!"

A lot of people talk to their screen. To scold a boss. To cheer on a main character. To give comments on the cinematics. It's a normal habit for video game players to talk to the screen. However, it isn't normal for the screen to respond. Normal or not, though, the cinematic came to a sudden stop. Sora turned to face Emma with a look of mock irritation. "And YOU aren't? I mean, where'd you get those glasses, your Grandma's dresser?" he asked playfully.

"Did…d-did you just t-t-talk? To m-me?"

Sora crossed his arms. "Of course I did!"

Emma paid no attention to the fact that the Keyblade Master had insulted her, and shrieked loudly. Then she fainted.


	2. Entering Kingdom Hearts

"Hey, wake up!" Sora yelled, pressed against the PS2 screen. "If this is about the crack about your glasses, I'm sorry! JUST WAKE UP!"

Jane looked over at Sora. "Who are you talking to, Sora?"

"Yeah, who're you talking to?" Goofy echoed.

The pointy-haired boy ignored his allies, waving his arms around frantically. "HEY! WAKE UP ALREADY!"

Donald tapped his foot impatiently. "I think the sun melted Sora's brain. There's nobody there!"

Sora gestured to a hologram of an unconscious Emma that had appeared in front of him. "Look, there's a girl right there! She fainted when I said something to her!" The others stared blankly at him. Sighing heavily, Sora faced Emma again. "WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!"

"Mmmmm…" Emma sat up groggily and rubbed her eyes. "That was a weird dream…" She glanced up at Sora, who was glaring back at her. "AGH! IT WASN'T A DREAM!"

"Be quiet!" Sora scolded. "Listen, my friends think I'm schizophrenic at the moment. I'm the only one who can see you, so if you want to talk, you'll have to find a way over here."

"To…to Deep Jungle?" Emma asked, staring blankly.

"That's right."

"How?"

Sora shrugged. "I thought you might know that answer to that. Well, how can you talk to me right now, first of all?"

"Some guy gave me a cheat code."

"A what?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "You know, a cheat code. To give you extra things in video games." Sora twitched. "Yeah, you're in a video game. Walk it off, tough guy."

Trying his best to remain ignorant of Donald, Goofy, Tarzan, Jane, and Terk's stares, Sora cleared his throat. "Well, can he give you another one? To get you in here?"

"He called me out of the blue. I don't know his number, or who he even is, for that matter. How am I supposed to contact him?"

Sora glanced behind him. His voice dropped to a whisper. "They're seriously weirded out…listen, I can't think of anything, but if you try pressing every button, maybe you'll get some results."

Emma shrugged. "It's worth a try. I'll contact you again if it doesn't work. For now, just go get your new Keyblade."

"New Keyblade?" Sora asked skeptically.

"Yeah, new Keyblade. Trust me, this is my eleventh time playing Kingdom Hearts."

"What's Kingdom Hearts?"

"Nevermind. Go!"

Sora started to turn from the hologram of Emma, then stopped. "Hey, before I forget, what's your name? I can't just call you 'girl', can I?"

The gamer pushed her glasses further up on the bridge of her nose. "My name is Emma. Now go already!" she insisted. Sora smiled and nodded, then turned and motioned for his allies to follow him out of the Cavern of Hearts.  _Well, let's try pressing every button. But if something bad happens, I swear I'm going to find a code that forces Sora to walk around in his underwear._ She padded inUp, Down, Left, Right, Triangle, Square, X, Circle, L1, R1, L2, R2, L3, R3, Select, and Start.

Suddenly, a blinding, green light filled the basement. Emma shielded her eyes instinctively. Glowing green flames, the source of the light, appeared a foot in front of her. An eerie voice started to speak.  _What are you so afraid of?_

"Huh?"

 _What are you so afraid of?_  it repeated.

 _Oh! The questions from the beginning of Kingdom Hearts! I wonder if I can choose different answers…_ Emma slowly uncovered her face. "Er…being made fun of," she admitted.

_What is your most prized possession?_

Emma wasted no time in replying, "My PS2!" she chirped.

_What do you want out of life?_

Her happy expression left as quickly as it had arrived. Shyly fiddling with the zipper of her school uniform, she whispered, "I want…I want friends."

 _Your journey will start in the afternoon,_  the voice told her emotionlessly.  _Keep your wits about you, and your head high, and your journey will be a pleasant one._  Suddenly, it stopped speaking. Before the flames lowered and the light dimmed, Emma was surprised and confused by the voice's final words:  _Good luck to you…elementalist._

The flames shrunk until they were barely off the ground. They shimmered slightly, and formed a small circle that fans of Kingdom Hearts would recognize as a save point.  _I think it worked! But just in case…_  Emma looked around her basement for a test subject. Her eyes finally chanced upon a small Beanie Baby, a near-bald zebra that was smeared with lipstick; she had tried to give it a make-over at the age of five.

Emma picked the zebra up by the head, and promptly dropped it into the save point. On the screen, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were swinging above the Hippo Lagoon. The decadent zebra plushie fell on Donald's head. "WAK!" he squelched in shock, losing his grip on the vine he was holding, and also fell. A splash could be heard, along with Sora and Goofy's chuckles. "IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Donald's roared.

 _Well, I guess it worked!_  Emma grinned. She stood above the save point.  _Wait…I shouldn't go in until they're on land. I'm not particularly in the mood to get drenched at the moment…_  So, she sat back down and watched Sora and Goofy swing down to retrieve a considerably upset Donald.

… … …

"I'm telling you, it was a Heartless!" Donald insisted as they walked back to Jane's tent to exit Deep Jungle. "I was attacked by a flying Heartless!"

Sora glanced over at the duck. "It looked more like a bald zebra toy, in my opinion."

Donald crossed his arms. "Well, nobody asked for your opinion. It was a…a Zebra Heartless. That's right, it was a Zebra Heartless. Very dangerous," he assured him.

A glowing green light came from the tent. "Gawrsh, what's that?" Goofy asked in alarm.

"Stupid projector!" Emma stumbled out of the tent, Jane's projector lying on the floor. She rubbed her leg, hopping along on one foot. "Sora, there you are!"

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Emma? Is that you?"

Emma nodded. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be me?" Sora didn't reply. Donald and Goofy were just staring, utterly confused. In the awkward silence, Emma reached up to adjust her glasses, and realized why Sora didn't recognize her in the process; her glasses were gone. Yet, she could see perfectly. She looked down at herself, and noticed for the first time that her uniform was gone; she was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Her bun had been replaced by a neat ponytail. She shrieked, causing Donald and Goofy to shriek as well. "Man, if I looked like this at school, those kids would sooner eat their shoes than call me Auntie Em!"

"Auntie Em?" Sora asked, not familiar with movies, much less the Wizard of Oz.

"Nevermind," Emma dismissed.

Donald and Goofy were still shaking like leaves. "Sora, who is that?" Donald demanded, pointing a feathered finger at the girl.

Sora gave them a smug grin. "Remember when you thought I was talking to myself? Well, I wasn't. Meet Emma, guys. You probably know Donald and Goofy, right, Emma?"

"Since I was a toddler," Emma confirmed. She extended her hand. "Nice to meet you guys. Cautiously, the two talking animals shook Emma's hand in turn.

Donald tapped his foot again. "Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you. What are you doing here, anyway? Where are you even from?"

Emma glared. "Chicago."

Goofy looked thoughtful. "I've never heard of a world called Chicago!"

"It's not a...nevermind."

"So why are you here?" Donald repeated.

Emma blinked. "Um…I'm not sure, actually. I just came. There wasn't really a reason…other than that I wanted to mess around."

Donald groaned loudly. "So you're nothing but an air-headed freeloader." Emma twitched at this comment. "Since you're already here, why don't you make yourself useful?" he suggested, but his tone implied that it was an order.

The gamer shrugged. "Sure, why not? I have the time. What do you want me to do?"

"Help us find King Mickey."

"And Riku and Kairi," Sora added.

Emma looked aghast. "You want me to fight?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah! Do you have a problem with that? You can go home now, if you want. You don't have to help, but it would be appreciated."

"Of course I don't want to go home!" Emma responded, puffing out her chest. "I'm in Kingdom Hearts! What more could a kid like me ask for?"

Donald and Goofy looked confused again. "Kingdom Hearts?" Goofy whispered to Sora.

Sora shrugged, looking just as confused. "Don't look at me! She didn't fill ME in, either."

"If I absolutely HAVE to fight…" Emma continued. "…then I will. With great power comes great responsibility. Just like in Spiderman."

"Spiderman?" Sora asked.

Emma waved her hand. "Nevermind, it's a real-world thing. So, do you guys have a weapon for me?"

The three characters shook their heads. Donald and Goofy both took one of Emma's wrists, pulling her back into the tent, and back onto the save point. "Then we'll get you one. Let's go to Traverse Town!"


	3. It's Not Just a Game Anymore

"So we're driving to Traverse Town now?" Emma asked. "And we're taking the Kingdom, right?"

Sora shook his head. "Nope. Even better!" The tent was once again filled with green light. The four disappeared, then reappeared in a large, futuristic room. Dark purple panels surrounded them, covered in buttons and blinking icons. "We're taking the Shiva 3000!"

Emma gaped.  _I made this ship! I made it last week, when I was working on Wonderland!_

"Cool, isn't it?" The Keyblade Master grinned widely. "It just appeared in the Gummi garage one day. It's way better than the Kingdom ever was, so we took it without question. Even Cid was impressed with the features. 'Considering it's just a spruced-up Shiva model, it's a real beauty', he said. We're standing in a Cura-G cockpit, if you can believe it. So the controls are much smoother, and we've got more space. Plus, we've got a few lasers, Thunder-Gs, I think they're called, a Fira-G engine…"

Not bothering to pay attention to Sora's description of the ship she knew everything about, Emma gazed at every square inch of the Shiva 3000.  _I'm really riding in my own Gummi ship…I really am in the game!_

Donald plopped into the seat in the front of the cockpit. "I'll drive!" he announced.

Emma sighed.  _I remember…Sora and Donald start fighting again, over who drives back to Traverse Town. They stop being friends, even after that mushy scene in the Cavern of Hearts._

"Sure! I could use a break from driving all the time."

Emma stared at Sora.  _What?_

Goofy put his arms around Sora and Donald's shoulders. "Great! You fellers are still pals!"

"What's happened to the game?" Emma whined, speaking out loud by accident.

Donald turned to look at her. "What game? We're not in a game!"

Emma didn't appear to have noticed his comment. She slowly sat down in a passenger seat, looking as if she was about to have a mental breakdown.  _He may be right. Because of the cheat code…I don't think this is just a game anymore._

… … …

"Ansem picked the right girl," Maleficent murmured happily, watching a hologram of Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Emma in the Castle Chapel. "She's clumsy, she's startled…the game will be changed for sure! How will the Keyblade Master and the king's buffoons be able to defeat us with her along?"

Oogie Boogie cackled nearby. "She's like a scared kitten! I love kittens!" He licked his lips with his bug-composed tongue. "…with soy sauce! Hey, watch it, woman!"

Ursula had whacked him with one of her tentacles, and clicked disapprovingly. "No eating the enemy. And I disagree…kittens are much better with ketchup."

"Frankly, I don't care what you dip kittens in," Hook snapped. "I just want to hack those fools into little pieces!"

"It's not my fault!" Oogie Boogie insisted. "I didn't eat a single rat today, and I'm hungry!"

Ursula smirked at the large cloth. "Oh, I think a few missed meals would be good for you. If you get any fatter, you'll most likely burst."

Oogie Boogie scowled, then also smirked. "You're one to talk, Tubby."

Hook tapped his hook on the table. "I don't care to listen to your squabbling. Grab a few kittens and get away from me!"

"SILENCE!" The three villains stopped talking immediately and Maleficent gave them a look that would freeze the sun. She turned to Jafar. "They will be driving to Agrabah once they have sealed Traverse Town's keyhole. Hurry, so you may get there before they do. That armored Heartless will buy you a bit of time."

Jafar nodded and picked up his snake staff. "That girl will drive them off of a cliff. I shall simply give them a little push." He laughed menacingly and left.

… … …

"See anything you like?" Huey asked. True to his word, Sora had taken Emma to browse through the Item Shop.

Emma shrugged. "Have any recommendations?"

Douie reached behind the counter, and pulled out a mallet. "This is the Silver Hammer. It's a pretty good weapon for new fighters."

"Lemme take a look at that." Emma took it from the duckling's grasp, and inspected it. "Hmm…I like it," she announced. "How much?"

Louie punched some buttons on the cash register. "We can give it to you for just 200 munny, seeing as you're with Unca Donald."

Emma bowed her head slightly. "Thanks." She glanced back at Sora. "I don't have any munny…just real-world dollars. Can you pay for me?"

Sora placed two big, silver-and-gold spheres on the counter. "You owe me," he told her. Emma nodded and picked up the Silver Hammer. "Okay, let's go meet back up with Donald and Goofy.

… … …

"Die, Heartless scum!" A Shadow exploded in a spray of darkness, leaving behind only a few health balls, and a small amount of munny. Emma picked it up and handed it to Sora. "That's the last of my debt, right?"

Sora smiled. "Yeah, that's all 200 munny." He turned to his other allies, who were also beating up Heartless on the roof of the Gizmo Shop. "Guys, hurry up! I want to test out the Red Trinity ability now!"

"Hold on!" Donald replied, mercilessly flinging Blizzard spells at a Red Nocturne. They also exploded, and the duck greedily stuffed the spoils of battle in his pocket. "I must have enough to buy twenty Ethers!"

Goofy ran over to the wall of wooden planks, emblazoned with three red hearts. "Okay, let's do this!"

He rammed into the wall, followed by Sora and Donald. Their combined weight caused it to come tumbling down, as did the trio. Emma attempted to suppress her laughter, but she let out a little giggle. "Oh, shut up already!" Donald heaved himself up, and looked at the rope that had been revealed. "What's this do?" He yanked it, and a loud rumbling sound turned the group's heads. The panel near the entrance to the Second District rotated, and displayed a new picture. "Huh?"

"I like this one better," Goofy mused.

Emma reached out and pulled the rope, since Donald was too busy watching the panel. "Sorry, but we need to change it." Once it rotated again, she pulled the rope one final time.

Nearby fountains turned on and spurted water into the air. The outside of the panel lit up, and a keyhole appeared in the center. "All right! Now we just have to lock it!" Sora cheered.

"Guys, be careful," Emma warned. "You shouldn't just-" Ignoring her completely, Sora, Donald, and Goofy threw caution to the wind, and jumped off of the roof like lemmings. "Fine, ignore the girl who knows everything that's going to happen," she muttered. She looked over the edge, drawing her breath in sharply.  _Even if the game seems to have changed a little, game physics might still work. If I jump off, I'll land on my feet!_  she insisted mentally.  _It'll be perfectly fine!_ Emma clenched her fists, bent her knees, then leapt off the roof. "AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" she screamed. Thankfully, Emma fell safely, her feet practically glued to the ground.  _Cool! It worked!_  She wobbled off towards the others, still rather shaken from the speedy plummet.

Sora was almost at the keyhole, but he was halted by the arrival of a giant, armor-clad Heartless who suddenly dropped from the sky. "You again? I thought you learned your lesson last time! We can kick your butt anytime, anywhere!" he jeered.

Emma shook her head. "He's gotten a lot stronger. Like I said, be careful."

"Oh, don't be such a worry-wart, Emma." Sora shone a relaxed grin. "How much worse could he be?" As if answering him, the Guard Armor's arms and legs traded places, and his faceplate dropped down to display his glowing, yellow eyes, the trademark of every Heartless. A massive, white laser beam zoomed past the group, singeing one of Sora's spikes. In a wavering tone, Sora replied, "Oh. That much worse." He pinched the small flame on his head to quench it, then got into a battle stance. "Well, he's still no match for us! HYAH!" He swung at the Opposite Armor, bashing his head.

"Fire!" Donald called, a small flame flying out of his Morning Star. Goofy performed Tornado, spinning at the Heartless with his Golem Shield outstretched.

Emma nervously advanced, waving the Silver Hammer. She also tried to spin around with it, nearly hitting Sora. "Watch what you're doing with that thing, Emma!"

"I'm sorry!" she wailed, and hit Donald in the back instead. Donald narrowed his eyes. "Oh! Sorry!" Emma turned the other way, then nearly hit Goofy's face. "Sorry! I'm horrible at this…" she mumbled to herself.

Donald pointed to a bench near the Second District Hotel. "Just go sit over there," he told Emma. "You're not strong enough to fight bosses yet."

Sora turned around. "Don't you're being a little harsh?"

Emma sighed. "He's right, Sora. I'll wait until you're done."

After a few minutes, the Opposite Armor was defeated. A gust of wind blew towards Sora and Donald, and their weapons shimmered briefly. "New spell, right?" Sora clarified.

"Aero," she replied. "Now lock the keyhole."

Sora held out the Jungle King, and angelic music sounded. A stream of light connected the Keyblade to the keyhole, and a click signified the sealing of Traverse Town. "Well, that's three down. How many more to go?"

"A bunch. Now, we have to go to the Third District," Emma announced, walking around the corner.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at each other in confusion, shrugged, and followed the girl. "Why are we going to the Third District?" Sora asked.

"Like I said, this is my eleventh time playing this game. Trust me on this."

"All right. You've been right about everything you told us so far." Sora pushed the Third District door open, then froze. A wide grin spread over his face. "RIKU!"

Riku turned around, then also smiled. "Sora?"

"RIKU!" Sora bounded up to him, then started stretching Riku's face in various directions.

Emma laughed a little.  _Well, it seems like everything's normal for now…but I know that something's going to change._  A swishing noise brought Emma's mind back to the present. Sora had just killed a Heartless to show off to Riku.  _Yeah, I remember this part._

"So this is the Keyblade…" he mused.

Sora held out his hand. "Give it back!"

Riku smirked. "Catch." He tossed the Jungle King, and Sora dove to catch it. Then, he looked at Sora's allies. "Who're your new friends?"

The Keyblade Master grinned again. "This is Donald, Goofy, and Emma. Guys, this is Riku, one of my friends from the islands."

"Did you find Kairi?" Riku asked hopefully.

Sora shook his head. "We're trying to, though. We're also trying to find their ruler, King Mickey," he explained, gesturing to Donald and Goofy. "You're welcome to come with us, if you want! Right, guys?"

_Now Donald's going to say no, and fight with Sora again._

"Sure!"

_Huh?_

"Really?"

Goofy nodded. "Any friend of Sora's is a friend of ours. You can't be a bad feller if he likes you."

Emma quickly wiped away the shock of the plot change to join in the conversation. "We could always use more help. Plus, you seem like a really strong guy. It'd be an honor to have you with us."

Riku thought for a moment. "Well…" Riku suddenly stiffened, and was outlined by a thin, green haze. He slowly decided, "I am afraid I must decline." It sounded as if two people were talking at once. "Working with you will just slow me down."

"Riku…" Sora murmured, surprised and sad.

 _It's Ansem,_  Emma thought.  _He wants to keep Riku, so he's possessing him early._

"Stay out of my way, Sora. I've been working far harder than you could ever know in order to find Kairi. You, on the other hand, have been frolicking with animals and babies."

Emma twitched. "BABIES?" she screeched. "I'M ONLY THREE YEARS YOUNGER THAN YOU!" She lunged at the silver-haired boy to get her revenge, but he fluidly side-stepped. Emma fell flat on her face.

Riku/Ansem smirked. "Pathetic. You should have sided with the darkness. You could have gotten stronger allies."

"Shut up," Sora ordered. "Donald and Goofy are my friends. Emma is too, but she's mostly our guide."

"Great. Thanks," Emma replied sarcastically, her voice partially muffled by the concrete.

Sora crossed his arms. "You're not Riku. Riku's my friend too, and you're far from a friend, whatever you are, because you're evil. I'm not putting up with this."

Riku/Ansem didn't seem to care about Sora's brief speech. "Open your heart to darkness," he insisted. "It will bring you strength."

"No," Sora answered resolutely.

"Open your heart to darkness!"

"No!"

"I SAID, OPEN YOUR HEART TO DARKNESS!"

"AND I SAID NO!" Sora slashed Riku/Ansem, causing him to fall backwards, sprawled on the ground. "Whatever you are, leave Riku alone!"

Riku/Ansem briefly touched his bruised cheek. He glared icily at Sora, then stood up again. "I suppose you need a demonstration in the power that darkness provides. Let me show you…"

"Bring it on!" Sora challenged.

Emma also stood up with a frantic look.  _I don't believe it! They're really going to fight!_


	4. Making Some Changes

_Sora and Riku can't fight yet!_  Emma thought frantically.  _If it took Sora ten minutes to fight the Opposite Armor, even with Donald and Goofy's help, so there's no way he'll be able to beat Riku!_  She bit her lip, and squeaked a little as she saw Riku/Ansem lunge forward to attack Sora. Emma, without thinking, yelled, "RIKU CAN'T PAY ATTENTION IF HE'S POSSESSED!"

Riku/Ansem halted his advance. "What do you mean?" he demanded with a scowl.

Emma gulped at the villain's cold stare, then stuttered, "Riku can't p-p-pay attention if he's p-possessed. You need him t-t-to hate Sora, d-d-don't you? H-he's supposed to think that Sora's r-r-replaced him with Donald, Goofy, and m-me. How will he hate Sora if h-h-he can't pay attention to what's g-going on?"

"I thought that picking an obsessed girl would further hinder the Keyblade Master," Riku/Ansem grumbled. "But it seems that I have given them valuable aid. This is not over, child. Know that." The green haze reappeared, and Riku fell like a sack of potatoes. A green hand with pink fingernails reached out of the shadows to drag the boy away.

Goofy and Donald looked scared. "What's goin' on?" Goofy asked fearfully.

Emma took a deep breath. "Listen, guys. You're…we're…in a game. It's called Kingdom Hearts. I'm a big fan of the game, so I know everything that's going to happen. But I think my being here changed the plot. It may take a while, but I have to do some tests. I may be able to decide what happens in some cases." She looked at the other three. "But you guys have to back me up. You saw me. I can only destroy Shadows."

"So…" Donald was actually deep in thought for once. "…you're going to be the brains…and…we're the brawn?"

"That's the plan," Emma concluded.

"Fine. Let's hope it works."

Sora smiled. "I'm sure it will. Even if Emma's weak, she's trustworthy."

"Where to now?" Goofy asked cheerfully.

Emma pointed in the direction of the Second District. "The sewers!"

… … …

"Hey, Sora." Leon gave Sora and his allies an acknowledging nod as they hiked through the waist-deep water, towards him and Aerith. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed Emma in the lead. "Who are you?" he asked with an air of mild hostility.

Emma saluted, climbing onto the green, rocky floor. "My name's Emma Baecker. I'm helping these guys."

"Hmm. Well, my name is-"

"Squall. I mean, Leon. And you're Aeris. I mean, Aerith. Nice to meet you both!"

"Same to you. But how did you know our names?" Aerith wondered, not commenting on the fact that Emma called her Aeris.

"Sora told me," Emma lied.

Leon shrugged. "I have something for you," he told Sora. As he dug into his jeans pocket, Emma closed her eyes, concentrating. "Here…it's a summon gem. It's called the Earthshine." He tossed it into the air, and Sora caught it in his gloved hands. "Take it to the Fairy Godmother. She'll open it for you, and then you can summon it in battle."

… … …

The Fairy Godmother examined the gem. "Oh, this is a strong one…you're lucky to have found him."

Emma rocked back and forth on her heels. "No offense, but can you just free him now? I wanna get to Agrabah as soon as possible."

"What's Agrabah?" the old woman asked.

"Uh…I didn't say Agrabah!" Emma insisted, trying to cover up her slip of tongue. "I said…I wanna get to…to agriculture. Yeah, agriculture! The agriculture of, um, Traverse Town!"

"All right, dear…bibbity bobbity boo!" The Fairy Godmother tapped the Earthshine briskly with her wand. A white flash emanated from it, filled the room, then faded.

Sora looked around. "Where is it? I don't see anything."

"Me neither," Donald agreed.

"Gawrsh, are you sure it worked?"

Emma was grinning from ear to ear. "Look down," she told them. The four of them stared at the small creature on the floor.

"He's little," Sora said.

"He's ugly," Donald decided.

"He's blue," Goofy mused.

"He's Stitch!" Emma proclaimed.

… … …

On their way to Agrabah, Emma was bouncing up and down in her seat. "I did it! I did it! I changed the game again!"

Sora didn't turn around from his driving duties, but he sounded impressed. "I doubt you'll be able to change anything big, but I bet you can work out all the little knots. I'm really glad you're coming along with us!"

Emma gave him a thumbs-up. "Heh, thanks. And I know exactly what I'm going to change next…Agrabah, here we come!"

"Don't you mean 'agriculture', Emma?" Donald joked.

"Shut up before I tie your beak up with your foot."

"That's not even possible," he squelched in-between laughs.

"I'll MAKE it possible." Donald immediately became silent. "I think I could get used to being in a video game!"


	5. The New Emma

"Ansem should never have brought that girl here," Maleficent spat as she and Jafar strolled through Agrabah. "There is more to her than we first perceived. No matter. I shall work on the plan."

"And I shall work on locating the Princess of Heart, and attempt to halt those fools," Jafar added.

Maleficent nodded. "Good luck to you." She summoned her trademark portal of darkness, and faded out of view.

… … …

Nearby, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Emma were all standing on the save point. "Good, we're here. I'll guide you three through the level," Emma announced. "All you need to do is watch my back."

"Got it," Sora confirmed. They walked out of the small, cramped storage room, and into the hot marketplace. "Where do we go now?"

Emma took in her surroundings. It was easier to navigate once you were actually inside the game. "We need to go to the alley. This way!"

Before Sora and Co. could start following her down the street, a voice came out of nowhere, and echoed, "EMMA! ARE YOU DOWNSTAIRS?"

Emma squeaked nervously. "That's my mom! She's home!" She sighed and headed back for the storage room. "I guess time doesn't pass any differently. Try to go on with out me, guys; I'll be back as soon as I can."

"But we need your brains!" Sora wailed. Emma gave him a weirded-out look. "You know what I mean."

The girl just opened the door, and smiled a little. "Just try your best, okay? In the normal game, you don't need anyone to direct you, so...okay, actually, the player directs you…seeya!" She flung the door closed again before either Sora, Donald, or Goofy could complain.

… … …

"I wonder what Mom wants…" Emma squeaked again. The save point was still glowing on the floor.  _How do I get rid of it?_  She scrambled back towards the PS2, and flipped the switch. The screen turned black, and the green flames fizzed out.  _Okay. Good._

Mrs. Baecker's voice thundered from upstairs, "EMMA, GET UP HERE RIGHT NOW!"

 _What did I do?_  Emma whimpered mentally. She hunched up her shoulders, and tip-toed up to the main floor of her house. "Yes, Mom?" she asked meekly.

"I told you not to play King of Hearts for this long!" Mrs. Baecker reprimanded. Emma was too twitchy to correct her mother on the game's name. "But you didn't listen! So, as punishment, you can't play Playstation 2 for the next three days!"

A few days ago, Emma would have glumly consented, but things were different now. As the all-important gamer, it was her duty to make sure that the Keyblade Master and his allies got where they needed to go. "Mom!" she lamented. "I really need to play Kingdom Hearts!"

"Three game-free days aren't going to kill you, Emma," Mrs. Baecker told her daughter.

_No…but it might kill Sora, Donald, and Goofy._

… … …

Emma walked into her room, plopping onto her bed. She sighed loudly.  _I hope the guys can go on without me…but Mom's right, three days isn't too bad. My sentence could be worse. I just wish I could tell Sora…hmm?_  She glanced over at her silver-colored Gameboy SP. Chain of Memories was still inside the slot.  _Maybe the cheat code works in this one too…_  She turned the power on, and hurriedly mashed every button. When she was done, she sighed again.  _I forgot. Sora and the guys are in the first game. Chain of Memories is like Kingdom Hearts 1 ½,_  she reminded herself. She dropped the Gameboy SP beside her, and sighed a final time.

… … …

The next day, Emma got up at 5:00 AM, an hour and a half earlier than she had to. After rubbing her eyes and sleepily put her horn-rimmed glasses on, nearly poking herself in the eye during the process. She looked herself over in the mirror, prodding her tidy, black bun.  _I looked awesome in the game,_  she reminisced.  _Maybe I could look like that again…?_  She ran into the bathroom, and searched through the cabinet. Finally, she located a bottle with clear contents, and grinned.  _Auntie Em, say "sayonara"!_

… … …

"Hey, where's Auntie Em?" A group of boys from Emma's class were searching the playground. "She's usually the first one here," one of them remarked.

One of his friends pointed numbly at the sidewalk, where the other students were staring. Most of them had parted to let a highly conspicuous girl through. She had spiked, black hair, and white, leather shoes with flames on them. "Who is that?" one girl wondered.

Unlike the others, the boy wasn't staring at the girl's hair or her shoes, but at her eyes, which were partially obstructed by a pair of crescent-moon glasses. "IT'S AUNTIE EM!" he screamed, dashing out of her way.

"Yeah, you BETTER run!" Emma called after him with a grin. She looked at the other kids. "Well? What are you waiting for, Christmas?" They glanced at each other, then dispersed, murmuring. "Aw, yeah! This is much better!" She raised her arms in victory, and strode into the school.

… … …

After six boring hours of school and short walk home, Emma read Mrs. Baecker's note, announcing that she would be late again, uncovered the key, and trudged upstairs.  _No Kingdom Hearts today…I wonder how the guys are doing? I shouldn't worry, though; they're pretty tough. They can go on without me fine. I'll just play Chain of Memories…huh?_  She picked up her Gameboy SP. It was on.  _I thought I turned you off…I should charge its batteries later._  Emma was about to push down the switch when she heard a beeping noise. The words "NEW MESSAGE" appeared on the screen.  _Message?_  She reluctantly pressed the A button.

LOADING MESSAGE

Sora: Hey, Emma! Are you there?

Emma didn't know whether to freak out or to be relieved. A message box appeared.  _I guess this is like AOL Instant Messaging…except it's on an SP, and I'm talking to a fictitious character._

Emma: Yeah, I'm here. Are you doing okay? And how are you messaging me on Chain of Memories?

Sora: We're fine, don't worry. What's Chain of Memories?

Emma: Nevermind.

Sora: Not that again…

Emma: Cut to the chase; what do you need?

Sora: We're in this small room with treasure coming out of the wazoo, and-

Emma: You just gave me a really bad mental image.

Sora: Stay with me here, okay? Donald says that we should ask your permission before going into the next room. He's a magician and stuff, so he says he's getting bad vibes, or something like that.

Emma: What do you know, the duck's got a few brain cells. He's right. The next room is where you fight Jafar.

Sora: So, should we go in?

Emma: Not just yet. See the save point?

Sora: If you mean those green flames, then yes.

Emma: Go back to Traverse Town. Just relax for a while. For two days, actually.

Sora: What, do I get a vacation?

Emma: No. Well, I guess you could call it that. I got punished for playing Kingdom Hearts for too long; I was sentenced to three PS2-free days. This is officially day one of the punishment.

Sora: When should we come back to Agrabah?

Emma: Around 3:00 PM, in two days. Fight Jafar without me. When I come home from school at 3:00, I'll help you fight him in his genie form.

Sora: WHAT?

Emma: Oh, he's not too hard. Besides, I have a plan to get rid of him for good, instead of just sealing him in his lamp.

Sora: Um…Emma? You can't fight.

Emma: Don't remind me. This plan doesn't involve any sort of fighting, anyway. Can you play soccer?

Sora: What's that? Is it like blitzball?

Emma: You know what that is?

Sora: Of course I do! Tidus and Wakka taught me.

Emma: Even better. Be ready to blitz in two days.

Sora: Got it.

The window closed, and Emma switched off her Gameboy SP.  _I can't wait to put this plan into action!_


	6. The Blizzard Stone

_I'm free! Finally!_  Emma ran into her house, cheerfully humming 'Simple and Clean'.  _This is the day that my punishment is up!_

She was about to descend the basement stairs, but Mrs. Baecker was blocking the door. "Well, the three days are up," she announced.

_Of course I know that! I've even marked today on my calendar!_

"Just make sure you don't plat for too long, okay? Keep an eye on the clock."

"Yes, ma'am!" Emma hugged her mother and ran downstairs.  _Time to kick Jafar's butt!_

… … …

Emma coughed.  _It's all smoky here…I guess they beat Jafar._  She peered down the hole in the floor of the battle arena.  _I'm just in time. But…do I really have to JUMP down there?_  She drew in her breath, hopped through, and gracefully…fell on her back.

Donald was laughing squelchily as Emma fell through the ceiling. "She's here," he told Sora, who was helping Aladdin and Goofy whack Iago.

Sora turned and smiled. "Emma! What's the plan?"

"Just follow me," she instructed. Emma ran over to Iago, Then grabbed his neck and shook him relentlessly. "DROP IT, YOU STUPID BIRD!"

"Not the feathers!" Iago complained in his high, scraping voice.

Emma brought his face close to hers. "Drop the lamp…" she ordered in a low voice, "…or I'll pluck you like a turkey, dangle you above the lava, cut off your wings and tail, and watch you bleed until you suffer a slow and painful death." Most likely a fear-induced, involuntary reaction, not an instance of the parrot being agreeable, the lamp dropped from Iago's talons and hit the stone floor with a clattering noise.

"Great!" Aladdin cheered. "Now Jafar has to go back in the lamp!"

"He'll escape sooner or later," Emma reminded him. "Watch this." She jumped up and down, waving the lamp. "HEY! JAFAR!" The giant, red genie turned. "I GOT YOUR LAMP!"

Jafar roared. "NO! YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME!

"Aw yeah, I can!" She thought for a moment. "I wish for a sandwich." Everyone stared. "MAKE WITH THE SANDWICH, GENIE-BOY!" Jafar groaned. A sandwich appeared. "Thank you."

"Uh…Emma?" Donald started.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." She looked around. "I wish for a backpack to put the sandwich in!"

Jafar groaned again. "She is eminently stupid."

"AND FOR MY THIRD WISH!" Emma hollered at him. "I WISH YOU WERE A HARMLESS BUNNY FOR ALL ETERNITY!"

"YOU CANNOT DO THAT!" Jafar screamed.

Emma just growled. "It's that or a pile of poo." Jafar whimpered as he turned into a little white bunny with his human face.

Sora cracked up. "Way to go! So what do we do now?"

"Remember I told you had to blitz?"

The Keyblade Master grinned evilly as he sheathed his weapon. "I get it."

"FORE!" Emma called. She whacked Bunny Jafar with the Silver Hammer. He flew into the air, screaming in a high-pitched voice. "You're up, Sora!"

Sora jumped into the air and did a slow-motion flip.  _Not as impressive as Tidus's,_  Emma thought,  _but still impressive._  His oversized clown shoe caught the bunny, and tossed him into the lava. Still grinning, Sora winced. "Ouch. That's gotta hurt."

Aladdin cautiously leaned over the edge of the platforms. "He's sizzling." He announced.

"Cool, lemme see!" Emma pushed her way over to the burnt bunny carcass. "It's safe to say he's dead."

The cavern started to crumble. "LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" Goofy yelped. The carpet zoomed down, and picked them up. They all filed onto it, with Emma was sitting nervously in front, staring at the lava.

"So, Aladdin, this is the girl I was talking about, Emma!"

Aladdin shook Emma's trembling hand. "Nice to meet you. That was a neat idea."

Emma looked up. "My 'neat ideas' make up for my fighting." She swung pathetically at the air as the carpet hit a rock, causing her to smack herself in the head.

"I…" Aladdin tried not to laugh. "…I can see that."

… … …

Back at Aladdin's house, Aladdin was sitting with his head on his knees. "I have no idea where Jasmine is," he sighed.

Genie patted his shoulder. "Hey, Al, you have one more wish!"

"I…I do, don't I…? All right, then." Aladdin stood up. "Genie, I wish for…your freedom!"

"Wh…what?" Genie stared. The shackles on his wrists disappeared, and he got legs. "Al!"

Aladdin smiled. "You deserve it. Could you…go with Sora and the guys? You could still look for Jasmine AND be free."

Genie crossed his arms. "I don't know…now that's I'm free, I don't take orders." He smiled too. "But hey, I'd be willing to do a friend a favor." He disappeared into the Keyblade.

Sora looked down at the Jungle King. "Don't worry, Aladdin. We'll find her." A green light came down from the sky and into the Keyblade.

"Green Trinity!" Emma squealed.

"I found this," Aladdin told them. "It might come in handy."

"And that would be the Three Wishes keychain!"

Aladdin looked at her, curious. "What? How do you know that?"

"Er…I guessed."

… … …

Maleficent and the other villains sat around the table. "I do not believe it. I do NOT believe it! Not only have they survived, they have KILLED Jafar! He would have been able to escape eventually, if another individual found his lamp, but he has been murdered!"

Riku leaned lazily against the table. "Sora's strong, and that girl's smart. It's obvious they'd put up a fight, and win under these circumstances."

"You sound as if you are on their side."

"I'm not. I'm just speaking statistically."

Maleficent stood with a sweeping motion. "Statistics are of little importance at the moment. We must get rid of the girl. Go to Monstro, and stop her. Stop them all!"

"Just give me the materials. The weapons. The powers." Riku picked up the Soul Eater. "If I get her alone, I can easily destroy her."

Maleficent nodded. She turned to Captain Hook. "Get the ship ready. Monstro is not a world, and can't be locked. If the puppet stays with them, they will leave, preferably without the girl."

"I don't want this rat aboard," Hook complained.

Riku narrowed his eyes. "This rat is coming anyway," he spat. In a wave of darkness, he disappeared.

There was silence in the room. Finally, Hook repeated, "I don't want him on my ship!" Maleficent rolled her eyes and walked away. "WELL, I DON'T!"

… … …

Sora and Co. were hitting Monstro's teeth. "I CONTROL YOU! LET US OUT!" Emma cried. She leapt up and smacked where she guessed the whale's nose was.

An item box that had been tottering on a plank of wood suddenly fell on Goofy's head. "Gawrsh, that hurt!" He looked up. "Huh?"

Jiminy was hopping up and down on Sora's shoulder. "It's Pinocchio!"

Sora and Donald also looked up. "Hey, Pinocchio!" Sora greeted.

The four of them conversed with the wooden boy, while Emma stood a bit further back, surveying the scene.  _Well, this is…slightly boring…_  In the corner of her eye, she saw a gloved hand shoot out.  _Hey!_  It clamped over her mouth, and dragged her into the shadows. "Mmm-mmm-mmph!"

… … …

Emma was sitting alone in Monstro's stomach.  _This is gross! Of all places, why did I have to come to the whale's stomach?_  She hurriedly scooted away from the bubbling acid. To take her mind off things, she prodded some moss-green rocks that had settled in Monstro's stomach.  _Hey, is that the Fireglow?_  A flash of red came from underneath them. She shoved the plain rocks aside, then inspected the crimson stone.  _No. Just a rock._  After sifting through the other rocks some more, she found a yellow one, a blue one, a white one, a purple one, a black one, and a darker green one.

"Well, well, well. Playing with rocks, huh, girl?"

Emma turned around to see Riku smirking at her. "My name's Emma," she mumbled.

"Whatever. You know, you were a cinch to capture…Emma." She just turned her back on him. She took a piece of twine from her pocket, and wove it through the holes in the stones. "Aw, making a necklace? You won't need that when I'M done with you."

Finally, Emma turned. "Leave me alone. You guys are probably the ones who got me into the game, so why do you want to take me out?"

Riku shook his head. "Wrong. We only let you talk to them. You came yourself. The idea was to pinpoint an obsessed, insecure player and let them talk to Sora. When they got to do that, Kingdom Hearts would stop being a game. The best part of the plan is that if Sora faints, he dies. Forever."

Emma shivered. "Can he die even now?"

"Yes." Riku smirked again. "That benefits me, too, not just Maleficent; Sora and me, we're rivals. Not friends anymore. When Sora dies…well, I'll get Kairi."

"You're stupid," Emma growled. "I control the game. I won't let Sora, or Donald and Goofy, die. Well, maybe Donald. No, I'll make sure they all live."

Riku shook his head again. "You can't control us. You only what has no effect on us. You caused the Earthshine to give you that blue creature instead of the lion. We don't care if you do that. We care about whether or not Sora lives."

Emma looked like she was going to have a mental breakdown. "My…my arrival really made it possible for Sora die? Will he die in all other copies of the game?"

"No. This is the real Sora. The others are just copies made for the amusement of children who own video games."

The girl started shaking. "I can't believe it. You, Riku, Sora's best friend, want him to die." A blue mist slowly filled the area. "Friends want the best for their friends."

Riku groaned. "I'm not in the mood to hear a speech about the heart."

"But it's true! You haven't lost yourself to the darkness yet. You have a heart." The mist got thicker. "You haven't been possessed, only mislead."

"I could care less."

"But…"

Riku lunged at Emma. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH! I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!"

An icicle came out of nowhere and caught the Soul Eater. Emma clenched the blue stone, her voice as cold as the air had become. "I don't think so. You may be Sora's friend, but you're sure not acting like it. I guess I'll have to kill you, then."

"Shut up!" He grabbed the Silver Hammer and snapped it over his knee. "Now what're you going to do?"

"I'm going to do this." Emma's brown eyes turned blue. Her shirt also turned blue. She raised the stone, yelling the first words that came into her head. "YUKI NAIFU!" she called. Icicles pierced materialized around her. The blue mist seemed to glow. She climbed up to sit on the point of an icicle. "Never seen something like this, huh, Dark-Boy?"

Riku jumped back. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

She leapt down, brandishing a smaller icicle. "Killing you," she announced casually.

"With…" Riku actually started cracking up. "…with that?"

Emma smashed the ice against Monstro's insides. There was a real, sharp knife in its place. "You underestimate me." It was her turn to sound possessed. There was just one voice, but it was like she was in a trance.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE BRAINY WEAKLING!" he yelled.

"Hmm. Too bad, so sad, don't care." She ran at him holding the knife. Riku was knocked to the ground.

"EMMA, STOP IT!" Sora called from behind them. Pinocchio was standing shyly behind the others. At this point, Emma's knife was hovering dangerously above Riku's throat. He ran at her and jerked her back through the fading mist. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Emma coldly responded, "His intent was to kill me. I simply turned the tables."

"Emma, I'm really sorry about this." Sora lifted the Three Wishes and brought it down on her head. She crumpled on the ground of Monstro's stomach.

Riku was panting heavily. "Get that…thing away from me!" He ran off. "Maleficent'll go berserk, but I'm going before that thing tries to kill me again!"

Donald sighed and gave Emma a potion. "She went out in one hit. That's just pathetic."

"Hey, look at these pretty stones!" Goofy picked up the stones Emma was messing with.

Emma coughed. "Please…give me those."

Sora looked cautiously at her. "I don't know…that blue one almost made you kill Riku."

"It's just that one. I promise. Let me have the rest. I just wanted to make a necklace…but it seems like these are weapons."

Goofy chucked the blue stone into the stomach acid. "Well then, that takes care of that! I think we can trust Emma with the others, Sora."

She got up shakily. "Thanks." She slipped them onto the wires. "I promise I'll try to control them better."

"Let's hope you know how," Sora replied stiffly. The other two nodded, while Pinocchio ran off to join Gepetto.

Emma also nodded, following them out.  _Great…now Sora probably hates me._


	7. Fighting and Making Up

Sora and Co. appeared in the cockpit of the Shiva 3000, and climbed into their respective seats. "Hey, Sora? Can I drive this time?" Emma asked. Sora was silent. "Or are you afraid I'll kill you by crashing the ship into some space debris?" Sora remained quiet, just staring emotionlessly ahead. "Fine, ignore me," she grumbled, walking to the back of the Curaga-G.

Goofy and Donald turned around to watch her leave, looking slightly sad. "Gawrsh, Sora, the stone's gone! She won't kill anyone." Goofy turned back to Sora. "Can't you just let it go? I don't want to see you and Emma sore at each other…"

Donald also turned around, and tapped his foot on the floor. "Well, if you want to know what I think, he's not really angry at her. I think he won't admit that Riku's a bad guy now. He's fooled himself into thinking that Riku is innocent, and that Emma is a would-be murderer, when it was the other way around."

Sora finally spoke, though he didn't face his allies. "We don't know that for sure," he announced stiffly.

"RIKU AND THOSE VILLAINS WANT EMMA OUT OF HERE, YOU KNOW THAT!" Donald yelled squelchily, hopping up and down in rage. "RIKU WAS TRYING TO KILL HER! HE ALREADY TRIED TO KILL YOU!"

"He was…possessed," Sora murmured. "That doesn't count."

"YOUR LITTLE FRIEND ISN'T INNOCENT! HE'S TRYING TO KILL US!"

Emma reappeared in back of the trio. "I was sticking up for you, Sora! Riku wanted you dead too!" she snapped. "If any of you faint, your gone for good! Dead! I can't revive you! I told Riku that I would try my hardest to keep you alive, then he tried to kill me. That's what really happened…and if you don't believe me, maybe it's really not worth it to keep the Keyblade Master alive." She returned to the cockpit's rear.

Donald and Goofy stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at Emma as she stomped off, and stepped into the green flames. "Did…she just say what I think she said?" Donald asked. Goofy nodded numbly. Sora just drove off towards Halloween Town.

… … …

 _This game is much better than Kingdom Hearts._  Back in Chicago, Emma was laying on her bed, playing Frogger. She maneuvered the abnormally large frog through cars and trucks, then made him hop onto an otter's head.  _I don't have to save the universe or anything…I just have to save a frog from becoming roadkill._  Suddenly, she stopped playing, letting a limousine run over Frogger.  _Then again…is that what I have to do in Kingdom Hearts, too?_

 _RIKU AND THOSE VILLAINS WANT EMMA OUT OF HERE, YOU KNOW THAT!_ Emma looked up as Donald's words echoed through her head.  _RIKU WAS TRYING TO KILL HER! HE ALREADY TRIED TO KILL YOU!_

"Riku won't really kill Sora…I don't have to go back…" Emma murmured to herself.

_If you let Sora faint, he would die forever._

"H won't die…he can't die…"

_That's what really happened…and if you don't believe me, maybe it's really not worth it to keep the Keyblade Master alive._

Emma shivered. "No…Sora doesn't deserve to die…he's not really angry at me…I have to go back and help him! But…what if it's too late? What if…he's already dead?" She pulled the covers over her head, sobbing.

Emma shivered. "Be quiet, Goofy…"

It was Riku's turn. "If you let Sora faint, he would die forever."

"No…Sora doesn't deserve to die…Donald was right…he's not angry at me…not exactly. What if I'm too late?" She started hyperventilating. "What if he's already dead…?" She pulled the covers over herself, sobbing.

… … …

Maleficent cackled. "Those fools are pathetic. They let the girl put a hole in their hearts that will surely drag them down." She turned to Oogie Boogie. "Guilt will surely guide her back to them. When it does, destroy her."

"Uh…what about that stone?"

"The king's doglike fool got rid of it," Maleficent told him.

Oogie Boogie whined. "That Riku boy says she has others!"

Maleficent eyes looked as if they were on fire. "Obey my orders, and destroy the girl!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the beanbag whimpered.

… … …

Sora, Donald, and Goofy stood by Halloween Town's gate, examining their costumes. "We look…odd," Donald decided, watching a strand of gauze flap around in the wind.

"So does everyone else," Sora reminded him, pointing out the two-faced mayor.

A vampire slunk up to them. "GIVE ME YOUR BLOOD!" it shrieked.

Donald fell over with a squawk, Goofy stared, and Sora rolled his eyes. "You decided to come back, huh?"

Emma removed her plastic fangs. "I'm not afraid of Maleficent, or Riku, or any other villains. If they want to kill you, they'll have to go through me."

"Hey!" Donald sat up and flailed around, trying to hit Emma from the ground. "Why'd you have to scare us like that?"

"Us?" Goofy repeated. "Speak for yourself! Ha-yuck!" Emma chuckled, and led Sora, Donald, and Goofy over to the Heartless.

Sora jumped back a little when one of the Search Ghosts nearly bumped into his knee. "What are they doing?"

"Dancing."

"I can see that. Why?"

Emma put her fangs back in. "Just leave them alone, and wait for Jack, okay?"

Right on cue, Jack and the Mayor walked over, proudly surveying the Search Ghosts. "At this rate, they'll be great in this year's Halloween show!" Jack exclaimed.

Something tickled Emma's foot.  _Not again…_  She raised her boot, and stomped blindly in the vicinity of her other foot. Finally, she stomped on something that felt like it had something moving inside of it, and it retracted with a small yelp.  _This is fun._  For the rest of Jack's conversation with the other three, Emma was distracted by Oogie Boogie's hand, grinding it with her heel.  _Why isn't he trying to get something other than my foot? Oh, yeah. Foot fetish,_ she thought, remembering the movie.

She looked up again as the Mayor started screaming. The Search Ghosts had become hostile, and were now chasing him across the town square. "Oh, well. Their dancing was creepy, anyway." He materialized the Spellbinder, and launched Fira spells at them.

 _It's necklace time!_ Emma pulled out her necklace, and put it on, ignoring Sora's horrified expression. However, no words came. _Huh? Why isn't it working?_

Goofy looked over at Emma after he mauled a Search Ghost with his Mythril Shield. "Emma, we need your help!"

"I'm trying to fight, but the stones don't work, and Riku snapped the Silver Hammer in two! HEY!" Two Search Ghosts grabbed Emma's arms, and dragged her into the graveyard. "GUYS!"

Sora whirled around. "Emma? Emma?" He, Donald, and Goofy looked around frantically. "Emma!"

… … …

"I knew I had to be ready to be kidnapped, but this is plain stupid!" Emma was tied to a pole in Oogie Boogie's lair, while the villain himself was playing Solitaire nearby. "Hey! You! Did anyone tell you're a horrible kidnapper? You're not even watching me! Are you even going to do ANYTHING? 'Cause if you're not, you'd better untie me before I go old school on your-"

"Don't bother me," Oogie Boogie grumbled. "I'm playin' cards."

Emma looked blankly at her captor. "So…you're just going to sit there? You're not going to kill me?"

"Don't you understand English? I told you not to bother me! But if you must know, I need that heart first. My lackeys are getting it."

 _And how long will that take?_  Emma swung her legs around, the only part of her body that she could move. "So…until then, can I play cards?"

Oogie Boogie looked up, clearly irritated. "Are you crazy? You're going to attack me if I let you down!"

"My stones don't work," Emma admitted ruefully. "Please, lemme play!" She banged her heels on the pole. "Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please-"

Oogie Boogie groaned loudly. "If it'll make you SHUT UP! Just give me that necklace."

"Do I have to?"

"If you want to get down, you do."

Emma sighed. "Fine, but seeing as I'm tied to a pole, you'll have to take it yourself."

Oogie Boogie cackled, and slipped the necklace off her head. "Ha! Maleficent is going to be crazy about this! Not only did I get rid of you…"

_I'm still here, dummy._

"…I took your precious weapon!"

"They make a nice necklace, but I don't really want them if I can't fight with them anymore." Oogie Boogie looked confused. "I already told you, they don't work."

The obese beanbag took out a knife, and cut Emma down. "You can play, but there's a little catch. I'm a gamblin' man, so you'll have to bet something."

Emma shook her head. "All I have is that necklace, which I don't have anymore, so I have nothing."

Oogie Boogie cautiously handed the necklace back. "All right, we'll gamble with the weapons."

"If I win, I want that, and that, and that, and…" Emma scurried around the lair, pointing at the various weapons and traps that littered the pit. She ran over to the robotic gunmen, and prodded them repeatedly. "That pistol looks neat! Is it real? Can I have it?"

The villain looked like he was getting a headache. "Those kids better come back with the heart soon…"

… … …

"…and that's why we have to get Emma back," Sora concluded. He, Donald, and Goofy had just finished explaining their situation to Jack and Professor Finklestein.

Jack looked thoughtful. "Is that so? Well, in that case, we'd better go to Oogie's mansion!"

Barrel was laying on the laboratory floor, listening to the conversation. Sora hung his head. "Thanks, Jack. If I hadn't gotten so mad at her, she would've done the same for me."

Goofy patted Sora's back. "Don't worry, Sora! If we can go over to that Oogie Boogie feller's place, and save Emma, she'll hafta forgive you!"

"Not if the dies first," Barrel snickered. All five looked down at him, prompting him to look up, then scramble to his feet. "Get it, guys!"

Lock ran out from behind the table, jumped onto Barrel's shoulders, and hoisted Shock onto his own. "You're really heavy," he complained.

"Shut up!" She ran across the table, and snatched the heart. "Yes!"

"Wait 'til we tell Boss!" the three children exclaimed in unison. With Shock still holding the pulsating, fabric heart, they ran for the door.

"Get them!" Sora ordered. He, Donald, Goofy, and Jack all moved to catch the children, but they knocked heads. "Ow! Hey, get up, guys! Don't let them get away!"

Lock ran back and kicked Sora's face in an attempt to subdue him. He and his cohorts cackled shrilly, then left the laboratory. "We got the heart!"

Sora used the table as a balance, and stood up, rubbing his cheek. "Who were they?"

"Those were Boogie's Boys," Jack explained.

Donald looked confused. "But…isn't one of them a-"

"Let's follow them to Oogie's Manor!" Jack interrupted, leading the other three out the door. Donald grumbled something about a stupid skeleton, and followed him.

… … …

"BOSS! WE GOT THE HEART!" The three trick-or-treaters ran across the manor. A scream came from inside Oogie's lair, causing them to stop. They took off their masks, and grinned at each other. "I bet Mr. Oogie Boogie is torturing that girl!" Shock whispered excitedly.

"Let's go see!" Barrel suggested, pushing open the door. "Boss! We got the…huh?"

Emma, still wearing her vampiric clothes, though not her fangs, was surrounded by some of Oogie Boogie's weapons, including the spiked disc, a blade from the rotating knives, and one of the robotic gunmen's stun guns. She screamed again, but to the dismay of Boogie's Boys, it was a happy one. She waved her arms around. "I never knew I was so good at Poker!"

Oogie Boogie looked considerably less happy. All he had was the strand of twine that held Emma's stones together, and her white stone. "Note to self: never play cards with your captive," he grumbled. He looked up. "Finally! You kids got the heart!" He smirked at Emma. "Well, it's time to kill you! And I'll be sure to make it even more painful to amend for the annoyance you've caused me over the last half hour!"

The door burst open, and Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jack jumped through it. Emma grinned and ran over. "You're here! Came to save your little guide, huh?"

Sora sighed. "I'm sorry, Emma. You guys were right, and I was wrong. Can we just kick his butt now?"

Emma walked back over to Oogie Boogie. "I've got a better idea."

Oogie Boogie flinched as Emma started pacing around him. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"I'm looking for…ah, there it is!" She grabbed a slightly unraveled string, and pulled on it. A tear appeared in his side. Emma pulled even harder, and his cover-up completely unraveled.

Sora looked amazed. "Where do you come up with this stuff?"

"Yeah, see THIS is why you need me," Emma told him with a smile.

"My bugs! My bugs!" Oogie Boogie lamented as the insects that he was comprised of scuttled away.

Emma laughed. She glanced at her winnings.  _Nevermind, I don't need it. It was big enough of a prize getting to annoy the dookie out of Oogie Boogie._  She only grabbed the twine and the white stone, then said, "Let's leave." Suddenly, the bridge that led back to the town square crumbled. "Or…we could stay awhile." The manor shook, and the fighters were dropped onto the ground. They looked up to see Oogie Boogie's face topping the building. "Okay, listen up. It looks like there are ten orbs on the manor floors. There were supposed to be five or something, but it looks like Maleficent can mess with the game too, and is trying to give us a hard time. If we destroy them, it's lights-out for Oogie's Manor. We each get two. Now, move out!"

Sora crossed his arms indignantly. "Hey, I'm the leader here!"

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry." Emma focused on the ground.

"Then again…you're the only one of us who actually knows what's going on." He looked at Donald, Goofy, and Jack. "You heard the lady! Go get those orbs!"

Emma ran behind one of the large rock formations, trying to string her necklace back together. The white stone started glowing once it was back together. "Guys!" she called. "My necklace is working!"

Sora tried to grin, but he still looked uncomfortable. "Great…you should use it."

Emma nodded, and put it back on. More words floated into her head. "WIND'S MASK!" she called. A thick, white fog appeared, and her shirt and eyes turned white, an eerie contrast to her black hair. "You're going down!" Emma told the manor. She flew upwards, squinting. "There's an orb right there!" She put her hands side-by-side, and a gust of wind blasted out of them, crushing the orb.  _YES!_  She flew up two levels, only to be halted by a fireball that had zoomed out of one of the lanterns. Involuntarily, she disappeared, then re-materialized once the fireball had gone past her.  _That was awesome! I actually became wind for a second!_  She quickly brushed the happiness away to destroy her second orb with another gust of wind.

The manor shook violently. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" Oogie Boogie's voice cried. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Emma, and Jack jumped down as Oogie's Manor started crumbling.

After it toppled, Lock, Shock, and Barrel emerged from the rubble. "Hey, come back here!" Sora yelled after them. "We're not done with-"

Jack shook his head. "They're mischievous, not evil. We should just let them go."

"But they…fine." Sora deflatedly took out the Spellbinder, and locked a giant keyhole on the ground that locked with a click. "Well, that's four so far. We're doing great!"

… … …

"So, we'll be seeing you later?" Sora clarified, as he, Donald, and Goofy walked Emma over to the save point.

Emma nodded. "I'll be back tomorrow. You guys can do the Phil and Pegasus Cups at the Olympus Coliseum. And put that new Keyblade to good use!" she suggested, gesturing to the Pumpkin Head.

Sora mockingly saluted her. "Will do!"

 _I love being in the game…_  Emma smiled as she was enveloped in the green light, and reappeared in her basement.  _I guess we're going to Atlantica next…or are we?_ She put a hand on her chin, and glanced over at her bookcase of video games. The Final Fantasy X case caught her eye. _No. We're not going to Atlantica. Not yet. I have a better idea!_


	8. Luca

_I'm so glad I thought of this!_  Emma switched on the PS2.  _Why go to boring old Atlantica when we can visit scenic Luca?_ She took a step back, then launched herself into the save point.  _Spira, here we come!_

… … …

Emma walked to the front of the Curaga-G. "I'm back!" She looked around and the Shiva 3000. It looked different. Instead of being a deep purple, it was made of pastel-colored blocks. "Er…guys? What happened?"

The boys waved. "Hiya there, Emma!" Goofy greeted her cheerfully. "Cid said that we can build any kind of ship we want now, since he's extended the size of the Gummi garage!"

"We just sort of threw stuff together," Sora admitted. "We used the blueprints of the Shiva 3000, modified them a bit, and changed the color scheme."

Donald nodded. "Since you weren't there to help us build it, we decided that you should name it."

"Thanks, guys!" Emma surveyed the ship again. "Mmm…how about the Valefor?"

"What?"

"The Valefor," she repeated. "I'll tell you guys later. Oh, and Sora?" Sora looked back over at her. "You'll see two people that you'll recognize in the next world. Pretend you don't know them; in this world, they don't know YOU."

"Um…okay…" Sora pulled a lever, and started the Valefor up. "…let's head to our next destination now."

… … …

"The road is splitting!" Maleficent stared in shock at a hologram of the Valefor. She whirled around to face Hook and Riku. "There has been a change of plans. Take Riku to this world," she ordered, pointing a dark pink fingernail at a Gummi map. "It seems to be called Spira. Riku, you must plant Heartless in a city called Luca. Do you understand me?"

Riku looked very sleepy. His head was bobbing a little. The mustached pirate jabbed him with the curve of his hook. "Speak when you're spoken to, boy!"

"Huh?" Riku's eyes flew open. "Yeah, I understand. I'll get the Heartless. Count on me."

"Provided he's actually awake," Hook grumbled. Riku stomped on his foot. "You scurvy rat!" This time, he was pricked with the Soul Eater. "Cut that out!" he demanded.

Maleficent banged her staff against the floor. "ENOUGH! THEIR SHIP IS ALREADY DOCKED AT LUCA! HOOK, DRIVE RIKU TO SPIRA IMMEDIATELY! RIKU, DESTROY THOSE FOOLS!"

Both Riku and Hook gulped. "Okay!" they whimpered in unison.

"Good."

… … …

"The screen says this world is Spira," Sora announced. "Are we at the right place?"

Emma nodded excitedly. "Let's disembark now!" Sora also nodded, then pressed down blue button, causing them to disappear.

… … …

Sora and Co. reappeared in the corner of a café. A blonde, spiky-haired young man was standing in front of a creature resembling a blue lion, as if defending it from two larger ones that stood in front of them. "Quit making fun of Kimahri!" the young man yelled. "What did he ever do to you?"

Goofy looked worried. "Gawrsh, we should help him!"

Sora gasped. "Tidus!"

"Sora, no!" Emma clamped her hand over Sora's mouth. "Sora, this is what I was talking about. This isn't your Tidus. This is the real version of him, from Final Fantasy X. Wakka's here too, but he doesn't know you either."

Suddenly, the café's customers quieted, and their eyes became fixed on a TV screen attached to the wall. Maester Mika's wrinkled face appeared on the screen, introducing the blitzball tournament. "Aw, man!" Tidus groaned. "I have to get to the arena! Let's go, Yuna." He looked around. "Yuna? Yuna!" With Kimahri on his heels, he ran outside.

Emma stretched a little. "Time to go beat up some Heartless!" She, Sora, Donald, and Goofy followed them out.

… … …

"Where were you?" A gothic-looking woman demanded of Tidus and Kimahri. "Yuna's been kidnapped!"

"She was right behind me, Lulu, I swear!" Tidus complained.

"Some guardian YOU are," she scoffed. "She's been kidnapped by the Al Bhed!"

Tidus angrily kicked a rock laying near his foot. "Well, that's just great! The tournament's starting! Why would anyone kidnap Yuna, anyway?"

Lulu rolled her reddish eyes. "Isn't it obvious? The Al Bhed want the Aurochs to pull out of the tournament, so the Psyches can win."

"Yuna or no Yuna, the Psyches will probably win anyway," Tidus commented, trying to smile. "We're pretty bad."

"This is no time to be joking. Their ship is nearby…we'll just have to board it and get Yuna back."

At that point, Emma stepped forward. "Excuse me, but I couldn't help overhearing that the Lady Summoner has been taken prisoner." She motioned for her allies to come up as well. "My friends and I are fairly good fighters; we would be honored if we could aid you in saving Lady Yuna."

Lulu looked them over. "You may as well help. Names, please?"

"Sora."

"Emma."

"Donald."

"Goofy!"

Tidus nodded. "All right, Sora, Emma, Donald, and Goofy, you can help out. We have to hurry!"

… … …

When the group was almost to the docks, their path was blocked by tiny, silver robots. "Machina," Lulu announced sourly. "The Al Bhed knew we were coming."

Everyone took out their weapons. "I hate these machina," Emma sighed. She glanced down at her stones. None of them were glowing.  _Aw, man!_

Lulu turned to look at her after she destroyed a machina. "What's the matter? Don't you have a weapon?"

"It's not working. Can I borrow one of your stuffed animals?"

"They're weapons, not stuffed animals," Lulu corrected stiffly as she handed Emma a Rune Mog.

Donald laughed in a squelching tone. "Sure they are."

Lulu narrowed her eyes and pointed a fan at Donald. "Burn," she muttered. A Fire spell was launched at Donald, who promptly yelled and tried to douse his burning tail feathers. "Serves you right."

Some larger machina models crawled toward Emma. She clutched her new Rune Mog, and extended the remainder of the Silver Hammer, a cracked wooden cylinder. "Burn," she hissed, mimicking Lulu. A larger flame flew out, hitting two machina. "Whoa! I've got Fira already? I'm on fire! No pun intended."

The group tore apart the rest of the machina, until their path was cleared. "The boat has to be around the corner!" Tidus called. "Let's go!"

… … …

"Oh, joy. A boss," Emma grumbled as they got onto the Al Bhed's boat, only to be greeted by a super-sized machina. "How could I forget about the Oblitzerator?"

Tidus raised an eyebrow. "Don't you mean the Obliterator?"

Panels in the boss's chest opened up, shooting blitzballs at the seven fighters. "No, I mean the Oblitzerator," Emma repeated, wincing. She rubbed her now-sore arm, then pointed at a nearby crane. "We need that to beat it."

"I'm on it!" Tidus jabbed some random buttons. "It's not working! It's out of power!"

Emma shrugged. "Well, we'll have to give it some more electricity, won't we? THUNDER!" A jolt of lightning struck the crane.

"THUNDER!" Lulu and Donald echoed.

They shot spells at the crane for a few more minutes, but it still didn't have enough energy.  _Why is it taking so long?_  Emma thought. She looked at the others. "We need to keep going!" she urged them. However, they were all busy staring at her. "What?"

Kimahri wordlessly pointed at her. "Your necklace is glowing," Tidus translated. "Is that normal?"

 _Huh?_  Emma looked down. The yellow stone was shimmering, as if coursing with electricity. She smiled and clutched it, calling, "INAZUMA!" Emma's eyes and shirt turned yellow as a mist of the same color floated around her. She ran around the deck at…well, lightning speed. "Wow, this is amazing!" she cried. Her voice sounded as if it was being fast-forwarded. She leapt onto the crane and clenched it. Electricity came out of her hands, and ran through the crane. It shook wildly, then made a clear humming sound. "That's better!" She scrambled down to pull the crane's lever. It creaked, lifted the massive Oblitzerator like it was a light feather, and dropped it once it was about twenty feet from the ground. It exploded into a shower of nuts and bolts. "And that's how you take out the trash," Emma announced proudly.

Everything was quiet for a moment. Then, a slide door on the ship opened, and a brown-haired girl clad in a fancy dress ran out. "Yuna!" Tidus, Lulu, and Kimahri ran over. Lulu patted her head in a motherly way. "Did you hurt those Al Bhed?"

"A little," Yuna replied modestly.

Tidus ran over to Sora and Co., and pushed them forward. "Yuna, meet Sora, Emma, Donald, and Goofy. They helped us rescue you!"

Yuna did the Spiran Prayer, and cracked a small, shy smile. "Thank you very much."

Lulu put a hand on her chin. "I think they would be good guardians. Don't you, Kimahri?" Kimahri grunted. "What do you think, Yuna?"

"If Tidus, thinks they're good, so do I."

Tidus turned a light shade of red. "Er…yeah…good. They're good."

Emma scratched her head. "We have to travel around a lot," she told them. "I'm really sorry, but we can't take the job."

"Could you at least be part-time guardians?" Yuna asked hopefully.

"Anything for Milady Summoner!" Emma shook Yuna's hand.

"Please, just call me Yuna."

Sora looked around the deck. "Where's the-"

Emma stepped back and covered Sora's mouth. "We might have to come back later to find the keyhole," she whispered. "Until then, don't blow our cover. We have to protect the world order." She straightened herself and grinned at Yuna. "We're very honored to be your new guardians, Yuna. We'll do the best we can!"

… … …

"No keyhole? That is most odd," Maleficent murmured, concentrating on her hologram table. "At least we have more time to get rid of those fools."

"May I help?"

Maleficent spun around. "Who dares to speak to me?"

"Down here." Maleficent looked back at the image, which had changed to show a man with long, spiky blue hair. "My name is Maester Seymour Guado. Your targets seem to be close to mine, now…if you'd like, I believe I can be of some use to you."


	9. The Mummified Fish

"Wakka!" Tidus burst into the Besaid Aurochs' locker room at the blitzball stadium, followed by Sora and Co. Wakka was laying on a locker room bench, groaning. "Ouch. He doesn't look so good."

Jassu, one of the Aurochs, sighed. "He got hurt in the semifinals. He'll have to stay out of this match." He looked intently at Tidus. "You don't look so good either…I heard you had to duke it out with some machina. Maybe you should sit this one out, too."

"No!" Wakka and Tidus yelled in unison. Wakka shook his head. "No! Tidus is going to help us win! Our goal is victory, yah?"

Tidus nodded. "He's right! I can't back out now! Besides, I'm perfectly fine!" He jogged around the bench, then skidded and fell. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…"

Jassu shrugged. "See?"

Datto, another Auroch, started pacing. "We only need six guys in the sphere at a time. If we can get one more, we still might be able to win." He looked at Sora, Emma, Donald, and Goofy. "Can any of you blitz?"

All four of them got a flashback of Sora kicking Bunny Jafar into the lava, blitzball-style. Sora raised his hand. "I can play!"

Wakka looked up. "You can? Well, let's see your skills, brudda!"

Jassu threw him a blitzball. Sora jumped into the air, did an impressive spin, and kicked it into the wall. It ricocheted off a lamp, off the ceiling, and towards the door. Sora caught it just in time, and spun the ball on his finger. "Well, 'brudda', do I get some props, or what?"

"Are you kidding?" Wakka laughed heartily. "You're in!" He looked over at Tidus. "Where'd you find this kid? And who're the guys in the doorway?"

"This is Sora," Tidus told him. "The tall one's Goofy, the short one's Donald, and the girl is Emma. They're Yuna's new part-time guardians."

Wakka's jaw dropped. "What? 'Dis bunch is protectin' Yuna? You must've met 'em today, and you're trusting 'em already?"

Tidus put a hand on Wakka's shoulder. "Calm down, man. They're good fighters, and they're not Al Bhed. Aren't those your only requirements?"

"Aw, fine…if Yuna wants 'em, I can't complain. We should jus' focus on the finals now. What's our goal, guys!"

"VICTORY!" The Aurochs cheered. "VIC-TO-RY! VIC-TO-RY! VIC-TO-RY!"

… … …

Bickson, the captain of the Luca Goers, was leading his team towards the blitzball area, a large, water-filled sphere. Sora led the Aurochs in from the other side. When he entered, Bickson stopped at stared. "A teenager is heading the Aurochs?"

"Folks, there's been a change in team positions!" the blitzball announcer called. "Auroch Captain Wakka has been injured in the semifinals, but they've got a temporary replacement! Please welcome Sora, the youngest blitzer in Spira's history!"

Bickson smirked. "We're going to beat the pants off of you losers!"

"But I like my pants!" Bickson just twitched as Sora stepped into the sphere. He looked around frantically.  _How am I supposed to breathe? Oh!_  He took out the Pumpkinhead, and cast Aero on his head.  _I'm sure glad I thought of that…_

He swam to the middle of sphere, and treaded water in front of Bickson, who was swimmingly serenely as if he had evolved past the need to breathe. Sora glanced out of the gooey, blue, sphere walls, and into the audience. In a middle row, he saw Emma, Donald, and Goofy holding up a large sign that read, "GO SORA!" He grinned and waved at them.

The game was fairly uneventful until half-time. The Goers were winning, 2-0. As the Aurochs were leaving the sphere to discuss a strategy, a majority of the fans stood up, yelling unintelligibly at the top of their lungs. After a few moments, the announcer boomed, "It appears the crowd is calling for…Wakka!"

Sora wrung the water out of his baggy shorts. "I'll be right back, guys!" He sped out of the room, and down the hallway.

… … …

Wakka and Tidus were still on the bench, thumb-wrestling. Tidus cheered. "I won again!"

"Can we stop now? I'm gettin' a little tired of this."

"Not until I beat you thirty times in a row!"

"You've got endless energy, y'know that, brudda?"

Sora threw open the door. "Wakka, the crowd wants you out there!" He shook his head like a dog, and hundreds of water droplets flew off his drooping spikes. "Are you feeling any better?"

Wakka nodded. "I am, but if I went out there, you'd have to stay outta the game!"

Tidus pointed to a screen on the wall. "Wakka, the team isn't doing so hot. If we're going to lose, we should do it while giving our…no, YOUR fans what they want."

"…all right, brudda." Wakka stood up shakily. "Besides, I was thinking of retiring this year. To protect Yuna full-time, yah? Might as well play the last game myself."

Tidus slapped his back. "Great! If we're going to win this thing, we have to get three goals in five minutes."

Wakka shook his head. "I don't care whether we win this one or not. We got all the way to the finals this time, and our team has the record for the youngest blitzball player ever. That's fame enough, yah? I jus' wanna play…jus' one more time."

… … …

The Aurochs and the Goers filed back into the sphere back in the stadium. "Wait a minute!" the announcer called. "There are only five Aurochs out here! If they can't get one more player, they'll have to forfeit!" The entrance doors swung open. "Well, what do you know, folks! It's Wakka!" There was a wild roar as Wakka ran in, hi-fived his teammates, and entered the sphere. "The fans are going wild!" Tidus and Sora entered behind him, making their way to the stands.

The Aurochs did much better after Wakka returned, getting three goals. However, the Goers got four, and the Aurochs lost. Nevertheless, their fans continued to cheer madly. As the teams started to exit the sphere, a bolt of light shot into the water. Two small, green, piranha-like creatures appeared. "Whoa! We've got to get down there!" Tidus, Sora, Emma, Donald, and Goofy ran down the stairs. Suddenly, Emma stopped. "What's the matter now?" Sora asked.

Emma waved her Rune Mog in his face. "I can't fight underwater with a weapon that only does magic!"

Donald rolled his eyes. "Whiner." He handed her a long, yellow-and-gold hammer. "This is the Grand Mallet. It's a stronger version of the Silver Hammer."

"Thanks." Emma swung the Grand Mallet around. "Let's do this!"

… … …

Tidus hacked apart one of the piranhas with the Brotherhood. Four more appeared in its place.  _I hate these Sinspawn,_  Emma thought.  _I honestly prefer the machina._ She and the others waved at Tidus and Wakka. They nodded, and continued to slash at the Sinspawn, except for Wakka, who was angrily throwing blitzballs at them. Finally, the tank was free of enemies.

Outside, things were not quite as successful. Fans were screeching and running for their lives. Several small Heartless were chasing them. "The Heartless have come here, too!" Sora yelled as he, Emma, Donald, Goofy, Tidus, and Wakka left the sphere. The Heartless were clad in what looked like machina armor, and had ten, clawed, metallic limbs. "Hey, who's that?"

One man was standing near the front of the stadium aisles, face-to-face with a mob of Heartless. His red kimono hid one of his arms; the other was wielding a giant, curved sword. "Hyah!" His sunglasses glinted as he jumped forward and destroyed the Heartless in two strokes.

More and more Heartless took their place. Yuna, Lulu, and Kimahri ran over. Kimahri was observing a cloud-like substance by his head. "Kimahri's sensor says that those are called Decaclaw Heartless," Lulu explained. "Do you know what those are?"

"Just think of them as a cross between Sinspawn and machina," Emma told her. A shudder ran through the five Spirans.

Seymour, the blue-haired man, was sitting in a box seat, surveying the damage with intrigue. He held out his hand. "Come, Anima…" he murmured.

A pointed chain fell out of nowhere and got a hold on the floor. Lava spewed out of the crack, and from the lava emerged what could only be described as an enormous, mummified fish with hands. It destroyed legions of the Decaclaw Heartless, while the fans looked on in awe. "That's amazing," Sora commented, without noticing that several Decaclaws were shooting towards him with jetpack-like devices.

Tidus jabbed him with his finger. "Sora, there's more!"

Sora whirled around and stared. He waved the Pumpkinhead around, and a glowing, orange light shot out of it. Sora, Emma, Donald, Goofy, Tidus, Wakka, Yuna, Lulu, and Kimahri disappeared. The Decaclaws halted, and zoomed away in confusion. The nine reappeared soon afterwards.  _What was that?_  Emma wondered. She glanced at the orange light. A white sheet materialized around it.  _Hey! It's Zero!_  She smiled and patted the head of the deceased dog. "When did you get him, Sora?"

"Jack let us borrow him after you left!" Sora announced. "He's a summon now! And I think it's time to try out our other one now…c'mon!" He tried to ignore the Spirans' stares as Stitch appeared. He laughed maniacally, then attacked some Decaclaws with a gun that shot green ooze. "Well, someone's certainly into this."

Wakka looked like he was going to keel over. "You're…you're a summoner!" he exclaimed. Sora shrugged.

"His Aeons sort of pale in comparison to Yuna's though," Tidus added under his breath.

Wakka got the blonde into a headlock and gave him a noogie, insisting, "Be…nice…to…the…summoner!"

The man from before appeared beside them. "I have to agree with Tidus; those are certainly some odd Aeons."

Tidus broke free. "AURON!" he yelled.

"Sir Auron!" the other Spirans chorused, excluding the mute Kimahri.

Goofy scratched his head. "Gawrsh, who's this Sir Auron feller?"

"He was a bodyguard to Yuna's dad, who died trying to save Spira. He was also Tidus's babysitter."

Yuna did the Prayer. "Sir Auron, these people are my new part-time guardians, Sora, Emma, Donald, and Goofy." They tried to imitate the bow.

"Nice to meet you," Auron replied roughly.

Emma nodded. "Likewise." She looked at her watch. "AW, MAN! I HAVE TO GO!"

Sora sighed. "We'd better be going, too. It was nice meeting you guys! I promise we'll be back soon." He turned to Emma. "Can I just have a few more minutes?"

"Sure. I'll just go ahead and get my backpack."

… … …

Emma was beamed aboard the Valefor.  _I have a little time before I have to go home…might as well wander around the ship for a little. Last time I tried to see how a Gummi ship worked, I got yelled at by Donald. At least he's not here now!_ Crunching sounds came from the back room.  _Huh?_

She tiptoed over towards the room. When she was about a foot away from the doorway, a voice said, "Yeesh, what's taking them so long?"

_I know that voice! But why would he be here?_  Emma wondered. _I should probably make sure it's him and not an enemy._  She walked stealthily into the pitch-black room. "Hello?" Something that smelled distinctly of melted cheese flew by her head.  _What the…?_

"What are you doing here? And who are you?" the voice demanded.

Emma flipped on the light. "I was going to ask you the same thing." Sitting on a cot with a plate of nachos was a tall boy who was most likely in his very late teens or very early twenties. Other than the fact that he seemed to be half dog, he looked relatively normal; however, he had enormous buck teeth that actually jutted out of his mouth, giving him an appearance vaguely reminiscent of Goofy. In fact, he looked exactly like a younger version of Goofy. "Max!"

Max raised an eyebrow. "How do you know my name?" He lowered his hands, which he had balled into fists, when he saw her necklace. "Hey! You're Emma, aren't you?" Emma nodded. "Dad told me about you."

"Did he also tell you that you all live in a game?"

Goofy's son twitched involuntarily. "Yeah, he did. It's really creepy…but it's also really cool," he added quickly. "It's every kid's dream!"

Emma laughed. "You can say that again. Anyway, it's nice to meet you! I've wanted to talk to you since I was, what, five years old?"

Max shook her hand. "Again, that's really creepy and really cool. Nice to meet you, too!"

"Well, I need to go now…seeya!" Emma walked back to the front of the ship to retrieve her backpack. At that moment, Sora, Donald, and Goofy beamed aboard the Valefor. "Hey, guys!"

Sora yawned loudly. "I'm going to go take a nap. Fighting Heartless, Sinspawn, and machina in one day really takes it out of you." Once he got to the back room, he screamed.

"Goofy?" Emma tapped Goofy's back nervously. "Did you remember to tell Sora about Max?"

"Nope, don't think so!"

Emma sighed. "Yeah, well, I think that might've been a good idea." She ran to check on Sora and Max.

In the back, Sora was gaping at Max, who looked utterly confused. "GOOFY SHRUNK!" he cried.

"This is Goofy's son," Emma explained. "His name is Max."

"Hey," Max greeted.

"Son?" Sora cringed. "Who'd Goofy…y'know…?" he whispered to Emma.

"I don't know, and I don't particularly want to," she whispered back.

"Hear, hear. Did you bring him?"

Emma nodded. "I think I did. I briefly considered it yesterday, when I was watching 'An Extremely Goofy Movie', but never really thought about what would happen."

"Goofy has his own movie?"

"Two."

"Lucky…"

Goofy and Donald walked back to join the others. "Aw, you and Maxie are getting' to know each other!"

Sora snorted. "Maxie?" Max made a guillotine-like movement with his finger. "Okay, okay!

Max stalked back up towards the main section of the cockpit. "For future reference, it's a very bad idea to insult your driver."

"Driver?" Emma repeated.

"Yeah, I'm sort of going to be your chauffeur."

"Isn't that a little boring?"

Max lightened up considerably as he put on a wide, insane grin and called over his shoulder, "Are you kidding? I get to blow stuff up!"

Once Max was out of earshot, Sora announced, "Goofy, your kid's nuts."

"I HEARD THAT!"


	10. Dia and Jake

The next day, Emma got up at around 11:00 AM. She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she shoved her crescent-moon glasses onto her nose. "G'morning, Mom," she called. Nobody replied. In fact, the only other sound that could be heard was a car driving off.  _Is Mom even here?_  Emma looked at her nightstand. There was a Post-It note stuck on.  _She can't be working on a Saturday!_ She picked it up and read it.

_Dear Emma,_

_I left my briefcase at the bank, and I need it over the weekend. Why? Well, we both know my boss is a jerk, and that jerk gave me a project on the weekend. Anyway, Since my car's at the shop, one of my coworkers kindly offered to drive me over to the bank. We won't be gone very long; I just wanted you to know, in case you tried to file a Missing Persons report. I'll see you around 11:20!_

_Love,  
\- Mommy_

Emma sighed heavily and rolled out of bed.  _Yeah, like I'd really do that. I guess I'll go visit the guys now._

… … …

"Hey, Emma! Nice hair," Sora commented.

Emma tried to flatten her bed-head hair that she was too hurried to comb before. "Don't make me pummel you. 'Cause I can. Where are we going next?" she asked Max, who was sitting in the driver's seat up front.

Sora smirked. "Yeah, Maxie? Where are we going next?"

Max gave Sora a death stare, then turned to Emma. "We're going to Atlantica."

Emma leaned back in her chair. "I hate that world…at least we get to be animals."

Goofy nervously surveyed the water-filled rock ahead. "Gawrsh, will we be able to breathe down there?"

"Like I said, we have to become sea animals."

Donald inspected his Morning Star. "I think my magic can handle that."

"YOU THINK?" Sora exploded. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!"

Donald said nothing, but leaned over and pushed the Disembark button on the dashboard. As they disappeared, Sora waved and called, "Bye, Maxie!"

"IT'S MAX!"

… … …

Sora looked himself over, happily admiring his new form. "Awesome! I'm a merman!" After further inspection, he sighed. "Oh. I'm half shark." He brightened again quickly. "That's even more awesome!"

Goofy floated down next. He had transformed into a sea turtle, his shield strapped to his back. Donald was next, floating upside-down, his blue tentacles waving. He looked upset until he saw the fourth member of their party float down. "Hey, look at Emma!"

As everyone looked up, she darted behind a rock. "NO!"

"Aw, c'mon down, Emma!" Goofy pleaded.

"NO!"

"Please?" Sora followed up. "You can't look THAT bad."

"Fine," Emma replied flatly. She reluctantly swam down, narrowing her eyes. She had the body of a grey-and-brown seal. Her necklace was tied around her right fin.

Sora chuckled. "Aw…Emma, you look so cuuuuute!"

"This is why I wanted to stay behind the rock."

"Hey!" a voice echoed. "Are you down there?"

Donald looked around. "I think that's for you, Emma."

Emma shook her head. "I don't recognize anyone with that voice."

"You should go anyway," Sora suggested. "We'll handle this world."

"Okay." Emma swam over to the white clam, summoned the Grand Mallet, and bashed it open, revealing the save point.  _At least I can stop being a seal._

… … …

"Heeeeey, are you down there? Huh? Huh?"

Emma hurriedly turned off her PS2. "Coming!" She bounded up the stairs, only to be met by a little boy at the landing. "Um…hi. Who are you? And why are you in my house?"

"Daddy had to drive Alissa to the bank, and he had to bring me with them, 'cause he didn't want to leave me alone at home. He made Sis come, too, even though she's sixteen."

"Alissa? You mean my mom? And I still have no clue who you are!"

The little boy cocked his head to one side. "Alissa didn't tell you?"

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Didn't tell me what?" she asked suspiciously.

"You'll see. C'mon outside!" He dragged her a few feet, then stopped and turned. "Oh, and my name's Jake Quinn. Nice to meet you!" He then resumed dragging Emma outside. "Here!"

Emma looked around. "What do you want me to…see…?" She stared in horror at a car across the street. Her mother was kissing some guy, presumably the coworker that drove her to the bank. "That's Daddy! He and Alissa started dating."

"What? Dating?" Emma turned around to look at Jake again. "What happened to your mom?"

"They got a divorce," he explained. "What happened to your dad? Alissa wouldn't tell us when we asked."

Emma froze momentarily. "My dad…" she turned her face away from Jake so he couldn't see her. "…my dad died. When I was six years old."

Jake lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Emma told him, shaking her head. "It's not like you did anything."

"I asked. That's doing something."

"You didn't know. It was a natural question to ask."

Alissa turned around. "Emma! I'm glad you're out here. Come on over!" Emma trotted over to the man's car, followed by Jake. "Emma, this is my new boyfriend, Taylor Quinn. I see you've already met Jake! Lydianne, come say hello to Emma!"

There was a thumping noise, and one of the car doors opened. A tall, teenage girl stalked out. She looked rather menacing, wearing a black, leather jacket, and peering at everything that moved over the top of her sunglasses, which were perched on her nose. "Call me Dia," the girl instructed Alissa. "Dee-ah. Dia. Got it?"

 _Heh, this reminds me of Goofy and Max,_ Emma thought. She held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Dia."

Dia stared at her, then at Taylor. "You said that Emma was Jake's age! She's gotta be, what, eleven years old?"

"Twelve," Emma corrected.

"Twelve," Dia repeated. "That's a five-year difference, Dad. She's not Jake's age."

Taylor shrugged. "Close enough."

Dia rolled her eyes, then tapped Emma's shoulder with a black-nailed finger. "Dad's going to talk with Alissa forever. Got anything to do?"

Emma nodded and walked back toward the house. "I've got a PS2."

"Awright, then! Which games?"

"Jak and Daxter, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Dark Cloud, Kingdom Hearts, DDR Extreme-"

"Kingdom Hearts!" Jake interrupted with a squeal. "Let's play that!"

 _They play Kingdom Hearts? Awesome!_  Emma grinned. "That's fine with me!"

… … …

Dia scanned a shelf in the basement. "There are so many games here…I can't find Kingdom Hearts! You got good taste in games, though, I'll give you that."

Emma laughed. "Thanks. The case is by the PS2; I was playing it earlier."

"How far are you?" Jake asked, jumping on the couch.

"I've beat it ten times. I'm at Atlantica right now."

"Cool! I'm stuck on the Stealth Sneak," Jake admitted. "Sis beat it, so I got to see a few parts later in the game. She usually plays at night, though, when Daddy's too tired to tell her she needs to stop playing. Can I watch you play?"

Emma sighed heavily. "Only if you promise not to tell anyone what you're going to see."

Dia and Jake nodded. "Yeah, sure," Dia told her.

 _Here it goes…_  Emma turned on the PS2. The green flames appeared on the floor. "Let's go in now."

"What the…is that what I think it is?" Dia shrieked.

"It's a save point!" Jake cried happily. "It's a real save point!"

Dia held her head in her hands. "I gotta be dreaming. That's right. I'm dreaming. There's not actually a save point on the floor, it's just a figment of my imagination, probably because I had too much…AAAAAGH!" Jake shoved his older sister into the save point, and she fell through. "I'M GONNA GET YOU FOR THAT!" Dia swore as she disappeared.

Emma tried not to laugh. Jake looked up at her incredulously. "Wow! We can really go into the game?"

"If you're up for it. But you'll have to help us fight." Jake had dove in before Emma could finish speaking.  _I think we just found two more recruits!_  Emma leapt in after him.

… … …

"I'M DREAMING! I'M DREAMING! I'M DREAMING!" Dia screamed continually. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Max just stared blankly at her.

Emma and Jake walked to the front of the Valefor. "Emma, who's the foaming chick?" Sora asked. "And the little guy who's with you?"

"My mom's dating this weirdo now. These are his kids, Jake and Dia. They're big Kingdom Hearts fans, too."

Jake prodded Max's arm. "Why's he here, Emmy?"

"I brought him here. I can change the game."

Dia whirled around. "You can WHAT?"

Emma chuckled nervously. "I got this cheat code, and now I can go into the game. It also turns out that I can change it."

Jake hopped up and down. "That's amazing!"

"Emma, what's really going on here?" Dia asked, still holding her head in her hands.

"We have to help Sora, Donald, and Goofy through the game, because we already know what's going to happen. They especially need the help because if they faint, they die. I don't think we can die, though, since we're from the real world."

"Good," Dia sighed with relief.

"We can stop by Traverse Town to get you two some weapons," Max offered.

Jake shook his head. "I want a shield! Like Goofy!"

"And I want something that can be used to smack the dookie outta people."

Emma materialized the Grand Mallet. "Would you want this, Dia?"

Dia grabbed the golden hammer, examining it with great interest. "Sure I would! That is, if you're willing to give it to me."

"I can get a new weapon." Emma grinned. "I can get any kind of weapon I would want!" She leaned down. "Do you know what you'd want, Jake?"

"Make one up! I want a special one!"

Max pushed a button. "All right, we'll be at Traverse Town in a few minutes."

"Wait, don't you guys still have to lock Atlantica?"

Sora grinned at her. "We already did. While you were gone. Are you impressed?"

Emma laughed. "Very!"

"This is going to be awesome!" Dia decided, swinging the Grand Mallet around.

… … …

"Wow, Traverse Town!" Jake's hair flapped around as he ran in circles. "There's the Item Shop!" He dashed over, with Sora, Donald, Goofy, Emma, and Dia trailing him. "Come on!"

Huey, Douie, and Louie waved at them as they walked in. "Hiya, Unca Donald!" they greeted.

"I need a shield!" Jake exclaimed.

Huey handed him a large, red shield with black stripes that were outlined with white. "Here you go! It's called the Titan Shield. 1000 munny."

Jake hugged the oversized shield. "Thanks!"

Emma stepped forward. "I don't know what I want…what do you have?"

Douie found an elongated metal pole with a foam hand grip in the center. "200 munny," he told her.

"Anything else?"

Louie dropped ten, small, silver ninja stars on the counter. "We just got these Crystal Shurikens. It's 1000 for the set."

Emma took out a velvet bag. "I'll take them. The pole, too."

"Can you pay for my shield, Emma?"

"Sure." She placed 2200 munny by the cash register. "Thanks for the weapons!"

"No problem!" the triplets replied in unison.

Emma nodded and walked out. "We're going to Neverland next," she told her friends.

Jake ran around in circles around them, moving his arms like airplane wings. "We're going to fly!"

"Not until the end of the level," Dia reminded him.

He stopped, crossed his arms, and made a noise that sounded like a cross between a squeak, a grunt, and a sigh. "Myeh."

Everyone except Dia stared at the little boy. "What was that?" Donald asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's what he does when he's disappointed or upset," Dia explained, trying not to laugh. "You'll get used to it."

Emma shrugged as they headed back to the save point in the Accessory Shop. "To Neverland!"


	11. A New Ally

Riku leaned against one of the masts on Hook's ship. Kairi's unconscious form laid next to him. "Do you think…do you think Kairi will be okay?"

"What do I care?" Hook grumbled, peering out into the sea.

"Yeah…" He stuffed his chin into his hand. "Maleficent said she'd be fine. Why would she lie to me?"

The pirate chuckled. "There're a lot of reasons, boy."

Riku's head shot up, and he glared. "Like what?"

Hook slapped himself in the head. "Oh, no…Maleficent's going to kill me…"

"What do you know that I don't?" Riku demanded.

The roar of an engine stopped Riku in his advance toward Hook. "What do you know? It's the Keyblade Master, the king's lackeys, and the girl."

"Emma?" Riku was convulsed by a shudder as he remembered the events in Monstro. "Well, that's just great."

Sora and Co. appeared on the ship's deck. Riku surveyed Dia and Jake. "Who are those two?"

"The girl must have brought them," Hook hypothesized, tapping Jake's baseball cap with his hook.

"Riku!" Sora cried happily. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving Kairi, of course," Riku snapped. "I found her. I bet that's more than you can say," he announced, gesturing to the redhead on the deck. Sora looked hurt. "You should've sided with the darkness, Sora. You could've learned some tricks…like this." He waved his hand, and Sora's shadow leapt off of the deck's floor. Donald, Goofy, Jake, and Dia fell into the hold. Riku started to leave, but he saw Emma standing a few feet away. "Why are you still here?"

"I moved to the side, so I didn't fall through the trapdoor and into the hold."

Riku groaned. "That's right." He glanced quickly at Sora, who was fighting his shadow, then back at Emma. "Why aren't you hitting me yet?" he asked warily of her.

Emma scratched her head. "Because last time I saw you, you were trying to kill me. You're not trying to kill me now. And if you don't mind me asking my own question, why are you so obsessed with trying to save Kairi?"

"Is that a serious question? You know why I want to save Kairi!"

She nodded. "Yeah, but in the real game, you let Sora get Kairi."

Riku clenched his fists. "Ansem, Maleficent, Jafar, Oogie Boogie, Ursula, Hook…we all wanted to change the game. You and your friends want to change it, too. The others wanted to control the universe through darkness…but I just want Kairi. Sora doesn't deserve her!"

"Has anyone told you that you're a selfish jerk?"

"Has anyone told you that you need to keep your pointy nose out of other people's business?"

Emma self-consciously felt her nose before continuing, "Sora does deserve Kairi. You don't." She stepped forward, striding toward Riku until she was a few inches away. "You're right. I DO want to change the game. But there are also some things that need to stay intact. That includes Sora and Kairi staying together. So butt out, you bratty…" She shoved Riku, and he stumbled back a bit. "…whiny…" She shoved him again, and he stumbled again. "…good-for-nothing BRAT!" she hollered in his face, giving him one last shove, this one nearly causing him to topple off of the deck and into the sea.

Once he regained his balance, Riku demanded, "What are you doing?"

"Something I should have done a while ago. I just didn't have the strength. Yeah, I almost killed you with a knife, you little sissy, but I don't mean that kind of strength. I mean strength in my heart. My heart used to bar everyone out, and seclude me from everyone else. Now, I get strength from my friends. I have Sora, Donald, and Goofy. I have Dia and Jake. Who do you have, Riku?"

"I…er…" Riku's voice trailed off, and he focused on the floorboards.

Emma snorted. "That's what I thought."

After destroying his shadow, Sora ran over, and stood by Emma's side. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Riku. I wanted to find you and Kairi so badly, but now that I have…I'm a little sad. You hate me, and Kairi lost her heart. It's the darkness's fault…I've lost both of you to it."

Riku crossed his arms. "The darkness isn't evil, just powerful. More powerful than you'll ever be."

"Would you shut up, already?" Emma teleported her metal pole into her hand and swiped at Riku's legs; he fell down immediately. "Hey, that was cool!" Sora glared at her. "Ahem. Anyway, the darkness IS evil. Ansem and Maleficent aren't really helping you. They just need Kairi because she's a Princess of Heart. And she's going to use you as Ansem's host, later." Riku's eyes widened. "They're completely evil, Riku. And we don't want you to become evil. Would you come with us?"

"We'd really appreciate it," Sora added.

Emma grinned, and extended her hand. "What do you say?"

"And you won't try to kill me again?" Riku clarified.

"I promise I won't," Emma chuckled.

Riku hesitantly clutched Emma's hand, and she pulled him back to his feet. "Okay. I'll trust you for now. Let's see how the others are doing."

… … …

Peter Pan, Donald, Goofy, Jake, and Dia were sitting, or in Peter Pan's case, floating, in a circle. There was a deck of cards in the middle. "Got any ones?" Jake asked.

"It's aces. Go fish," Peter Pan told him.

Donald sighed. "This is boring."

Sora, Emma, and Riku dropped down. "Hey, guys!" Sora greeted.

Dia stood up. "Sora! Emma! Oh, and look what the cat dragged in."

Riku sighed. "They forced me to stay with you guys as an ally. For now."

"Gawrsh, how'd you do that?"

Sora laughed. "Emma promised not to kill him."

Jake cocked his head to one side. "Why would Emma want to kill him?"

"I already tried to in Monstro…I got pretty close, too."

Dia started laughing hysterically. "Honestly? Way to go, Emma! That should've shown Captain Bishounen here! Never mess with a chick! Especially if she's got a metal pole!"

"Yeah! And Emma was really weak then!" Donald told her. "If someone as weak as her almost killed Riku, that would make Riku a super-weak pansy!"

Riku made for the hold's door. "I really don't see why I bother…"

Emma grabbed Riku's wrist. "I'm sorry, Riku, we were just playing around. Please don't go! You'll get in loads of trouble!"

"Why do you care?"

She limply dropped his hand, and her voice lowered. "I want the game to have a happy ending," she explained. "I want to find a way to stop you and Mickey from getting locked behind Kingdom Hearts. You'd be able to go home, with Sora and Kairi. Don't you want that?"

"Yeah. A whole lot."

"Then stay with us, okay?" She dragged him over to the others. "Are you guys ready to kick butt?"

"YEAH!" her allies cheered.

"Sure, why not," Peter Pan said indifferently.

They shoved open the door, and ran out with their weapons waving around. "Hey, when can we fly?" Sora asked Peter Pan.

"I tried getting your friends to fly while you were on the deck, but it backfired."

"Oh, well. I'll go ask Emma."

"Why would she know?"

Sora looked nervous. "Nevermind!" he squeaked. He ran further ahead.

Riku was trudging along behind his allies. Dia chuckled. "That kid makes goths and emos look happier than the Wiggles," she told Emma.

"I'm gonna go talk to him."

"Fine, but come back here if he starts cutting himself. Trust me, you don't wanna see that."

"Quit joking around." Emma walked over to Riku. "Are you okay?"

Riku glanced up at her. "Whatever."

Emma flicked his head. "Listen, you don't have to stay with us for very long. We have to lock Neverland, then we're going to Guadosalam, then to Hollow Bastion, and maybe to Macalania, then we kick Ansem's butt, and you can go home.

"Where's Guadosalam? And Macalania?"

"Were you the one who put the Decaclaw Heartless in Luca?" Riku nodded dolefully. "Well, those towns are also in Spira. Guadosalam isn't too far from Luca, and Macalania's also pretty close."

Riku shrugged. "We'd better get going, then."

"Lighten up! No frowns," Emma instructed. "No sad faces. Just like Donald said!" She ran in front of him, blocking his way. "You're not going anywhere until you smile."

"No."

"Smile!" Riku threw his arms up, then gave her a strained, cheesy grin. Emma clutched her stomach as she was overtaken by uncontrollable laughter. "You look so stupid! Even weirder than when Sora did it!"

Riku lost the cheesy grin, but he was smiling normally now. "C'mon, I can't be that bad!"

Emma shook her head. "No, you're not that bad. You're ten times worse!"

"That's it!" Emma started running for dear life as Riku pointed the Soul Eater at her and chased after her, both laughing happily as they caught up with their allies.

… … …

"Wendy?" Peter Pan called. He and the others were standing in a small room, peering through a hole in some wire above a shelf. "Wendy, are you there?"

"Peter?" Wendy crawled over to the hole.

"Aaaaand, cue the sappy part," Dia murmured. "What's up, Riku?"

Riku was gazing sadly at Peter Pan and Wendy. "That's how Sora and Kairi are gonna be, huh?"

Emma placed her hand sympathetically on Riku's shoulder. "Pretty much…but don't feel bad! In the real world, there are millions of fanfictions where you date Kairi." Riku cracked a small smile. "Then again, there are even more stories where you date Sora," she added.

Sora whirled around. "What?" Sora whined.

"You can't be serious!" Riku yelled.

"I don't wanna be in a yaoi story!"

"Too bad, you're in at least 200 of them," Dia informed the two boys.

Sora gagged, then looked up at Wendy. "Hey, is there another girl with you?"

"Why, yes!"

"Red hair, blue eyes, white tank top, purple skirt?"

"Yes, she's right here!"

Sora had an expression of pure happiness. "It's Kairi! Kairi, can you hear me?" He clambered onto the shelf and held out his hand. "It's me, Sora!" Kairi's fingers twitched slightly at the mention of Sora's name.

"Oh! Let go of me!" Wendy's startled voice snapped Sora back to attention. She and Kairi were being dragged away. "Hey!"

"Kairi! Bring Kairi back!" Sora cried frantically. He pulled himself up through the net, and onto the floor above. "We've got to save her!"

"Calm down, Sora!" Jake called and he and the others followed him up.

… … …

"Myeh, why'd Peter Pan have to leave?" Jake complained. "He was supposed to teach us to fly!"

Emma patted his head. "Don't worry, he'll come back later. Right now, we should go fight Antisora." She stepped onto the save point to regain her HP and MP. The others followed suit, pushing and shoving to get at least one foot into the green flames.

After more pushing, shoving, and yelling, they climbed up the ladder. It was decided that Sora should go up first; he thought it was because he was the leader, but the real reason was that nobody wanted to get a face-full of Antisora when they unlatched the door. "Whoa!" He slipped on one of the rungs, and fell onto his allies.

Riku rubbed his head, which Sora had kicked. "Why do we have to have such a big group?"

The others grumbled and nodded, then filed up the ladder again. This time, they all made it to Hook's room, and were prepared to fight. They let out a simultaneous cheer, and ran at the newly-appeared Antisora, slashing at him, whacking him, and slinging spells. Emma materialized the metal pole, and twirled it like a baton. It hit Antisora in the face five times. "Whoo!" Jake, Goofy, and Dia clobbered Antisora with the Titan Shield and Grand Mallet, Donald cast several spells, and Emma threw Crystal Shurikens. The flurry of attacks caused the boss to fall down, allowing Sora to stab him in the face, and he disappeared.

"We won! We won!" Jake waved his arms around.

"And there's the deck door!" Dia exclaimed. She, Jake, and Emma pranced around, cheering and jumping around.

Riku laughed. "What's up with you three?"

Emma stopped dancing for a moment. "We get to fly! We get to fly really soon!"

While the others didn't look nearly as insanely excited, they shared a look of happiness. "Let's go, then!" The seven shoved open the door, only to be tossed onto the deck the second they emerged. Several Heartless, Air Pirates to be exact, surrounded them, accompanied by Hook. "What? How did they know we were coming?"

Hook smirked. "You were screaming at the top of your lungs. It wasn't that hard to tell."

The pirate bent down. "Well, well, Keyblade Master! You seemed to have charmed the rat back onto your side. No matter; give me the Keyblade!"

"No way!"

"Ah, but if you don't, I have no choice but to make you walk the plank," Hook told him, pointing his hook at a wooden board.

Sora winced. "Is there another choice?"

"Afraid not. So, I supposed you're going to hand it over?"

"Never!"

"Very well." Hook snapped, and walked into his cabin, snickering.

Two Air Pirates grabbed Sora's arms, and dragged him to the plank.  _Think happy thoughts…think happy thoughts…_  Sora closed his eyes, and jumped off.

"SORA!" Jake yelled. Emma held him back. "Is Sora okay?"

Emma nodded. "He's fine. Look!" Sora rose up from the side of the ship, looking shaken but thankful. "We can fly now!"

Jake stood up. "Yay!" He jumped into the air, then fell back down. "Ow...I forgot! We need pixie dust, right?"

"Right!" Peter Pan flew down, shaking an irritated Tinker Bell onto Emma, Jake, Dia, Goofy, Donald, and Riku. "Now, all you need to do is think happy thoughts!"

 _Happy thoughts…let's see…oh!_ A light bulb turned on inside of Emma's head. The others seemed to have the same reaction, because everyone except Riku shouted in unison, "FLYING!" After a few seconds of thinking, Riku also took off.

"WHOOOOO-HOOOOO!" Emma flew in circles, laughing. She flew over to Riku, who looked very red. "Man, what's wrong with you? First you're maniacal, then you're happy, then you're depressed, then you're happy, now you're all flushed! Are you schizophrenic or something?" Riku shook his head. "If you don't mind me asking, what was your happy thought? It wasn't flying, was it?" He shook his head again. Emma playfully jabbed him with her elbow. "Was it Kairi? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"You," Riku replied flatly.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Huh?" Instead of answering, Riku flew off.  _Stupid…he's just trying to mess with me. Right…?_

After all of the Heartless were cleared away, the group landed back on the deck, by Hook's door. "How do we get Hook back out?" Donald wondered. "It's not like we can just yell, 'Hey, it's your enemies! Wanna come out and get killed?' What do we do?"

Peter Pan grinned. "We do this." He rapped on the door, and pinched his nose. "Captain? The children have been taken care of," he announced, speaking in Smee's voice.

"They have? Wonderful!" Hook cried, opening the door. His eyes widened. "You!" He hurriedly pulled out a rapier. "I suppose I'll have to fight you!"

The group drew their weapons. "You bet you'll have to, you old codfish!" Peter Pan agreed. Emma flew high up into the air, and landed on the top of the mast. "Hey, what's she doing?"

"Just fight!" Emma ordered. She examined her necklace.  _Great! The red one is glowing!_  She held onto it as the sky filled with an ominous red mist. "PYROMANIAC!" the girl hollered.

Sora looked up. "Emma's using one of her cool attacks!"

Hook re-sheathed his rapier, then shimmied up the mast. "Don't think that you can escape me that easily, you whelp!"

Emma peered down at him with red eyes. "Yeah, good luck getting up here, old man." She licked her newly-sprouted fangs, then flexed her fingers. Her pale fingernails rapidly changed into long, black claws. She tapped the mast, and it was set on fire.

"SMEEEEEEEEEE!" Hook screamed, climbing back down. The fire was faster, though, and set his hat on fire. Once he was back on the deck, he tried to stamp out the fire.

"Pffffft. You can't douse a magic fire with your shoes," Emma scoffed, and floated down. "It'll only set the rest of you on fire."

By the time Emma was done speaking, the fire had worked its way up to the knees of his pants. "EEK!"

Dia punched the air. "Burn, baby, burn!"

"Go, Emma!" Jake cheered.

Hook was flailing around, and he was nervously fanning his pants. "Decrepit fop," Emma muttered, then waved her hand. The fire disappeared. Giving him a toothy grin, Emma walked forward, while Hook stepped backwards. Once he was against the rim, Emma whispered, "Boo."

"EEK!" Hook shrieked again, and fell into the sea. He treaded water, and spit a little out. "All right, all right, you win. And you can get rid of that clock, it doesn't scare me."

The group exchanged glances. "We don't have a clock!" Goofy called down.

"What?" Hook turned around slowly to face the crocodile. Shrieking girlishly again, he swam off.

Sora chuckled. "I bet 1000 munny that he gets eaten."


	12. The Farplane

"That was awesome!" Jake squealed. "I've never had so much fun in my life!"

Emma, Dia, and Jake were sitting on the couch in Emma's basement. "I'll give you the cheat code!" Emma promised. "You can access the game from your memory card, and keep helping out!"

Dia grinned. "Cool!"

"Kids!" Taylor called. "We have to go! Come on upstairs!"

Emma got a scrap of paper and scribbled down the code. "Put it into your PS2 when you get home. Just remember to turn it off right after you finish playing, or your dad will see the save point."

"You're the best, Emmie!" Jake hugged her and ran up the stairs with his sister.

"See you later!" Emma called after them. She smiled and switched off her PS2.  _My first real friends._

… … …

The next day, Emma got up early again to play Kingdom Hearts. She combed her hair and got dressed, then ran to her basement.  _I hope Dia and Jake are there!_  When she appeared inside the game, she found herself standing in what looked like a small, stony inn.  _Hey, this is Guadosalam!_

The innkeeper waved at her. "Good morning. Do you need anything?"

"Er, I'm looking for Lady Yuna and her guardians…has she come through here lately?"

A young woman with long, red hair and green-and-white clothing stood up. "Yes, she just left for Maester Seymour's mansion! Why do you ask?"

Emma hurriedly did the Spiran Prayer. "I'm one of her part-time guardians, Emma Baecker."

The young woman also did the Prayer. "Yes, she told me about you! My name is Shelinda. Good luck protecting the Lady Summoner."

"Thanks! Good luck getting the Crusaders to stop using machina," Emma replied as she ran out.

Shelinda smiled. "Thank you. You'd better hurry!"

… … …

Sora and Co. and Tidus and Co. entered a colorful, round room, with Emma running after them. A blonde girl was hovering around a table stacked with food. "Wow!" she squealed. "Drana'c cu silr vuut rana!"

"Calm down, Rikku," Sora advised. "Hey, stop stuffing your face for a second and meet Emma!"

Rikku looked up. "So you're one of Yunie's guardians? Nice to meet you!" She shook Emma's hand.

Emma nodded. "Nice to meet you, too! It must be pretty confusing around here, seeing as you pronounce Rikku and Riku the same way."

Dia put a hand on Emma's shoulder. "Emma…do you know what happened last night?"

"No, what?"

Sora nervously twiddled his thumbs. "Maleficent took Riku back, and he got in really bad trouble."

Emma bit her lip. "Oh…I had brought him something, but I guess it'll have to wait." She showed her allies a triangular bar wrapped in aluminum foil. "It's a Toblerone. Candy. Riku seemed like he really wanted to learn about other worlds, so…I thought he'd like to see real-world food." She laughed. "It seems kinda trivial now. But we'll see him again."

A set of doors opened, and Seymour swept in. "Good morning. It's nice to see you all. I had a nice presentation set up, but I don't think there's any time for that. Lady Yuna, may I speak to you alone?" Yuna walked over to the Maester, then bowed her head, and Seymour whispered something to her. Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth. "Please notify me as soon as your mind has been made up."

Yuna nodded slowly, then walked away. "Whoa, wait up!" Tidus called. He and her other guardians followed her out the door.

… … …

"What did Seymour ask you, Yuna?" Tidus asked once they were all outside.

Yuna sighed heavily. "He…he asked me…if I would marry him."

"WHAT?" her guardians yelled.

Tidus clenched his fists. "Are you seriously considering it?"

"I…" The summoner concentrated on the mossy ground. "…I suppose so…" Tidus's jaw dropped. "I want to make the people of Spira happy. That's why. If I defeated Sin…people would be happy. If I married Maester Seymour…people would be happy. Two ways down the same road. So…I'll marry Seymour."

Everyone except Tidus and Emma hesitantly congratulated her. Tidus growled. "Does she even love him? Does she even LIKE him?"

 _Man…I wish I didn't know what was going to happen…Seymour's just going to use her,_ Emma thought.

Yuna stood up. "But before I give Seymour my answer…I want to go to the Farplane."

"The what?" Sora looked confused.

"You can see the dead there," Lulu told him. "Surely you must know that!"

"Won't that be a little…scary?"

Auron gave a dark chuckle from behind Sora. "Merely the memories of the dead."

Sora immediately jumped up in fright. "S-s-sir Auron! I didn't see you there!"

"You can't be a true warrior without noticing when someone's coming at you."

"Uh…that's nice." He nervously edged away. "Anyway, why do you need to go to the Farplane, Yuna?"

"I want to tell my mother and father the good news."

Sora put a finger on his chin. "Could I see my dad there?"

"I'm sorry, Sora, but…the Farplane is reserved for those who have been Sent by a summoner…or those who accepted death."

"My dad accepted death! He died trying to save me from a storm!"

Emma sighed.  _I was hoping to see my dad there…but why would he be in the game? Besides, I don't know whether or not he accepted death. I don't even know how he died. Nobody told me._  She shrugged, and rubbed her eyes. "Let's go to the Farplane."

… … …

Wakka was gazing at a shimmering image of his dead brother, Chappu. Yuna was talking to the images of her parents. "I'm getting married…isn't that great?"

Sora smiled at an image of his father. "I really miss you, Dad."

Emma, Dia, and Jake sat down next to Sora. "I see where you get your looks," Dia told him. His father looked like an older, stubble-induced version of him.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked. Emma was staring into the purplish-pink clouds. "Emmie?"

"Sorry. I was just trying to see if I could get my dad to appear. I know he wouldn't be in a game, but it was worth a try."

Goofy pointed upwards. "I think we've got some trouble, fellers!"

A large Heartless fell from the clouds. It flexed its pointed fingers. "What is that?" Yuna asked nervously, backing away from it.

Sora pulled out the Fairy's Harp. "It's the Darkside Heartless!"

Yuna stepped back forward, and raised her staff. A creature that resembled a human-like dog that had been set on fire. "Ifrit, take my part-time guardians up to the monster's face!" Ifrit grunted and dropped Sora and Co. onto his back, climbing up the Darkside.

Emma leapt onto its forehead and examined her necklace.  _None of my stones are glowing. I guess I'll have to do this the classic way…beating the dookie out of it!_  She bashed the Darkside's head with her metal pole, but it didn't seem to have much of an effect.

On the ground, Rikku and Auron had entered; they hadn't wanted to enter the Farplane for their individual reasons. "Whoa! That's one big Sinspawn!" Rikku remarked.

"It's a Heartless," Dia corrected.

Rikku reached into a bag around her waist. "Whatever! Overdrive, don't fail me now!"

Sora turned to Emma. "What's an Overdrive?"

"It's a super attack, like my stones," Emma explained.

"Mix!" Rikku held out two blue gems, then made the two ends touch. "Flash Flood!" Gallons and gallows of magical water dumped theirselves onto the Darkside, causing quite a bit of damage.

A glob of darkness shone above the Darkside Heartless's hand, soaking into it and making the hand grow larger; it then crushed everyone in the party. Everyone was laying on the ground, but Emma, Dia, and Jake were the only conscious ones. They stood up shakily, staring at the bodies around them. "If they faint…" Dia murmured.

"…they die." Emma finished quietly. "We…we didn't…we couldn't…" Too grieved to speak, Emma's voice trailed off, and she wiped her eyes. Jake started bawling on the spot.

Dia put her arms around both of them. "It's…it's going to be okay. We couldn't have done anything. Maybe we should just go…"

Emma jerked free, and grabbed a hold on her necklace. "No! I'm not going! I have to do something! My stones are amplified versions of Sora's spells, and he has Cure! I have to do something!" She looked over all of the stones again, but none of them were glowing. "NO! MY FRIENDS ARE DEAD! YOU HAVE TO HELP! YOU HAVE TO!"

A dim light pulsated inside the green stone. It grew brighter, and the stone started glowing. "You did it, Emmie!" Jake cheered, half laughing, half crying. "Hurry!"

 _This had better work!_  Emma clutched the green stone, and yelled, "NAOSU!" One by one, the fallen game characters woke up, with full health. "Yes!"

Sora sat up, and looked at his hands. "I'm…alive?"

Jake hugged the Keyblade Master. "Emma saved you with the Cure Stone!"

Kimahri, who had just waken up, checked his Sensor. "A few more hits, and that Heartless will go down!" Lulu announced. "Do you want to do the honors, Emma?"

Emma shook her head. "Tidus and Sora are supposed to be the heroes. Let them do it."

Dia grinned at her. "Yeah, but you're the heroine!"

Emma grinned back. "Fine. The three of us will take it down together."

Sora, Tidus, and Emma stepped forward. "HYAH!" Sora and Tidus swiped at the Darkside Heartless, while Emma tossed her Crystal Shurikens. The Darkside wobbled violently, and disappeared. "We did it!" Tidus exclaimed.

Wakka hi-fived his allies, cheering and whooping. "Way to go! We beat him good, yah?"

Emma laughed. "Yah."


	13. The Magic of Toblerones

"Okay, this silence is getting a little creepy," Max remarked, sitting in the Valefor. "What's up, guys?"

Sora sighed heavily. "Emma says that we're going to see Riku again when we're at the next world."

"Really? That's good." There was silence again. "Um…isn't it good?"

Emma shook her head. "Maleficent's probably had him possessed early so he wouldn't be tempted to come back to us. We can't get him back on our side until the end, if we can at all."

Max scratched his head. "I get it. Can't you use your powers to-"

"I can't control anyone who's sided with the darkness."

"Oh." Max pushed a button on the dashboard. "Well, we're at Hollow Bastion now. Good luck."

Murmuring apprehensively to each other, Sora and Co. walked to the save point in the back. "Thanks," Emma called over her shoulder.

… … …

Sora and Co. were a little late getting to where Riku and the Beast were; with six party members all trying to climb the icicles and be the first to get to the platform, there was a considerable amount of shoving and falling. By the time they all made it up, Beast was already sprawled on the ground. "Whoa!" Sora jumped back, then looked at Riku. "Why? Why did you do this?"

Riku looked up. "You!"

"Yeah, us!" Jake cheered, jabbing himself with his index finger. "We're gonna stop you from…uh…what was he going to do, Emmie? I still haven't gotten this far in the game."

Emma focused on the ground. "He's going to take the Keyblade. Aren't you, Riku?"

Riku stepped forward. "I have to. If I don't obey Maleficent…this won't be the only scar I have." He took off his left-hand glove just long enough for Sora and Co. to see a deep gash that ran there, then put it back on. "I need the Keyblade. If I have to, I'll take it by force." He held out his hand. Before the Keyblade could disappear from Sora's hand, something knocked Riku to the ground. "Hey!" He lifted his head up, only to see Emma kneeling over him, taking something silvery out of her pocket. His eyes widened in terror. "The knife!" He rolled over, and scrambled to his feet.

Emma grabbed Riku's arm, then struck him in the forehead. Riku clenched his fists, shuddering, expecting to hear the tear of skin. However, all he heard was the crinkling of aluminum foil, and Emma's laughter. "Gotcha."

"That wasn't funny," Riku grunted, grabbing the aluminum wrapper. "What is this, anyway?" He tore it open, and peered inside. "Why are you giving me little white chunks?"

"It's a Toblerone," Emma explained. "You wanted to see other worlds, so I brought you some real-world candy. I wanted to give it to you in Guadosalam, but Maleficent had taken you already."

Riku snorted, though he was smiling now. "I'm trying to take the Keyblade, and you're giving me candy? You're a psycho, Emma."

Emma grinned. "I neither confirm nor deny that statement. Will you come back to us, Riku?"

"But…what about Maleficent?"

"If Maleficent comes back, I'll shove my pole up her-"

Riku raised his hands. "Thank you, Emma, but that's disgusting." He also started grinning. "Fine. I'll come back to you guys."

"Ah, the magic of Toblerones," Dia chuckled.

"I was going to leave Sora alone to figure out how to open the castle door by himself, but…c'mon!" Sora and Co. ran onto the lift, except for Jake. "Hey, hurry up!" Riku called.

Jake prodded the Beast's arm. "You're looking for Belle, right?" Beast looked confused, but nodded. "If you come with us, we can help you find her!"

Beast slowly got to his feet. "I…will." His confusion being drowned by his love for Belle, the Beast lumbered over to the lift. Unfortunately, there wasn't quite enough room, so Emma and Jake had to sit on his back, and Jake insisted on petting him every few seconds. "I'm doing this for Belle…I'm doing this for Belle…I'm doing this for Belle," he constantly reminded himself.

… … …

"Emmie, why are we going into a library?" Jake asked, trotting behind Emma.

"To rearrange books."

"Myeh. Why are we doing that?"

Emma stopped and turned around. "If we put all the books where they're supposed to go, we can open a secret passage," she explained.

Sora and Co. split up, grabbing books and shoving them onto the shelves. About a minute-and-a-half later, all the books had been rearranged, and the door to the Main Hall's balcony unlocked itself. Riku pointed to several objects as they walked out. "We need the four pieces of the Heartless insignia to get to Maleficent. We have to light those candles, activate that stone to blow out the fire in the chandelier, get the one under the dog statue, and get the piece in the chest."

Sora, Donald, and Dia ran around the balcony, casting Fira on the candles. Jake jumped down to get the piece in the fountain, followed by Goofy, who went to retrieve the one in the chest. Emma cast Thundara on the small lightning symbol, then Blizzara on the chandelier's fire as Riku and the Beast pushed the ferocious dog statue to one side.

"All right!" Emma cheered. She, Sora, Jake, and the Beast each pushed a piece into the door. With a rumbling noise, it lifted, and Sora and Co. ran outside. "Maleficent, here we come!"

… … …

Maleficent stood in the Castle Chapel, growling. "What could be taking Riku so long? The king's fools must be stronger than I anticipated."

"Who're you calling a fool, fool?" Dia called, followed by the rest of Sora and Co. "Are we going to fight now, or what?"

Riku took out the Soul Eater. "I'm going to do what I should've done a long time ago; finish you off!" Maleficent gaped. "That's right, you old hag, I quit! Come on, Jake!"

Jake jumped up, and landed in Riku's arms. Sora and Dia each took one of Riku's feet. "Blasting off in ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!" Maleficent warily held out her staff. "0.75! 0.5! 0.25!" Jake yelled. Maleficent looked nothing short of vexed. "0.125! 0.03! 0.047! 0.0027784!"

"Just do it, Jake!" Sora complained.

"Myeh. Blast-off!"

Sora and Dia pushed on Riku's feet, and he and Jake soared into the air. Riku slashed at every bit of Maleficent he could get at. Maleficent clutched at her face, looking around wildly. "Where did the little girl and boy go? They cannot be…ugh!"

The witch fell over, with Jake standing on her back. He waved the Titan Shield around. "That was awesome! Hey!" He tumbled off as Maleficent stood again. "Stupid old lady!"

"That answers half of the question, but where is the…oh, perfect," Maleficent snarled. Emma was standing in the corner, clutching something. "Wait a moment…what are you going to do with that? Throw it at me?"

Emma held up a small, grey stone, looking defiant. "It's an elemental stone!"

Sora tried his best not to laugh. "Emma, that's a pebble. A normal pebble."

 _What? It can't be a normal pebble!_ Emma thought for a few seconds. "It would be a spell that has to do with metal, I guess. Try casting a spell!"

"Whatever you say, Emma." Sora extended the Fairy's Harp. "Metal!" Nothing. "Steel!" Still nothing. "Shiny, silver stuff!" Goofy started ha-yucking nearby. "Yeah…Emma, I'm pretty sure that what you found is an ordinary rock."

Emma blushed a little. "Um…oh! In Final Fantasy, there's a spell called Protect! Try that!"

Sora rolled his eyes. "Alright…Protect!" A grayish shield surrounding him, prompting him to yelp. "Whoa! You were right, Emma! How'd you know?"

"I just guessed," Emma replied modestly.  _Actually, I just found a neat-looking stone, then hoped for dear life that it was an elemental stone._  Clouds of grey mist rolled in. "STEEL ANGEL!" Emma's eyes and shirt turned grey. She took out her metal pole, and bent it so it resembled a boomerang. "HYAH!"

The boomerang completely missed Maleficent. She cackled. "I should be thankful that you have horrible aim," she remarked. However, her smile faded when she noticed that Emma was smiling back at her. "What?"

"Who said that I was aiming at you?" Emma asked happily. The boomerang flew around Maleficent in circles; metal blocks rose out of the ground and surrounded her inside of a tight tower. Under everyone in the room, excluding Maleficent, metal cylinders rose to the tower's level, carrying Emma's allies to the top. Cast Thundara into the hole!"

"THUNDARA!" Sora, Dia, and Donald yelled.

"NOOOOOOOOOO! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? ME, THE MISTRESS OF ALL EVIL?" Maleficent howled. The lightning bolts all struck her, leaving her dead inside of the tower.

Emma raised her fists. "Whoo! I love these stones more and more!"

"Yeah, you knocked the dookie out of her." Dia glanced at her watch. "Hey, it's 11:00 AM! Why haven't our parents told us to come up yet?"

Jake batted his eyes and clasped his hands together. "Alissa and Daddy are probably too busy talking on the phone together and being all mushy and stuff! Yuck."

"We'd better leave anyway," Emma suggested. "Since we've got Riku back on our side, there's no need to hurry."

"What about Belle?" the Beast asked. "Is she going to be-"

Riku nodded. "She'll be fine. Can you wait a little longer? We're going to need Emma, Dia, and Jake to be there." The Beast also nodded, reluctant but agreeable. "Thanks. Hurry back, guys!"

… … …

"Emma! You're down there, right?" Alissa called.

Emma turned off PS2. "Yeah, I'm down here!" She walked up the stairs. "What's up?"

Alissa beamed at her. "We're having lunch at Taylor's house!"

"When did you schedule that?"

"Just now! I was talking to Taylor on the phone."

 _She really WAS ignoring me because she was talking to Taylor? Man…if things continue like this, she might forget me completely! No, that couldn't happen…right? No, it couldn't. But she'll probably be talking to Taylor more than she talks to me._ Emma drooped a little.

Alissa patted her daughter's shoulder. "I know Taylor's probably not your favorite person at the moment, but you'll like him eventually! Besides, you can play with Dia and Jake!"

Emma smiled a little. "Yeah, there's that."

… … …

"And then he said, 'That's no orangutan, that's my wife!' Isn't that hilarious?"

Alissa, Taylor, Emma, Dia, and Jake were seated around a large table. "No," Dia replied flatly. "You've been telling that joke since I was old enough to understand speech."

Taylor didn't seem to notice her. "Anyway, I really appreciate you coming over here last-minute, Alissa."

"It was no problem," Alissa assured him. "It'll be good for Emma if she has a few friends."

Emma raised her hand. "Mom, can I have a sleepover with Dia?"

Alissa smiled. "That's a great idea! What do you think, Taylor?"

"I think that's great, too! I bet you girls are probably going to be playing those video games all night, huh?"

Dia and Emma grinned at each other. "Yeah, pretty much," Dia confirmed.

… … …

Ansem sat on the steps of the Grand Hall, without his glowing, grey cloak. "Maleficent is dead now. Pity, she was one of my finer lackeys. I suppose the fools who did away with her are on their way."

A hologram of Seymour appeared. "You're talking to yourself," he noted. "You know, you haven't done a very good job of trying to destroy your little antagonists. Do you mind if I try my hand again?"

"I mind it very much. I must dispose of the Keyblade Master myself."

Seymour chuckled. "In the next few years? Face it, you'll need some aid."

"I had aid."

"Your aids were killed by your antagonists, one by one. You're next, my dear king."

Ansem scowled. "I do NOT need any comments from you, Maester. It has taken you just as much time to annihilate the summoner's guardians. How long have you been planning this?" Seymour didn't reply. "HA! BEAT THAT, MAN-LADY!"

"Who are you calling a man-lady?"

"I'm calling YOU a man-lady!"

"You wanna take this outside?"

"We're in different worlds, stupid!"

"Then I'll find a Gummi ship!"

"That will take forever! I could have ran away before you got to Hollow Bastion!"

"You're running away? Who's the man-lady now, Ansem?"

"Your momma's the man-lady!"

"Who cares about my momma? I killed her and made her the Fayth for my Aeon, Anima!"

"Dude, that's straight-up cold."

"And I killed my dad."

"You're wiggity-wack."

"Your momma's wiggity-wack!"

Ansem burst into tears. "I never knew my momma!"

Seymour twitched a little, then blinked. "What just happened?"

Ansem straightened himself. "I…I don't know. Let's just agree to never speak of that moment again, hmm?"

"Agreed."

… … …

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku waved as Emma and Dia appeared on the Valefor. "Hey!" Sora greeted. "Where's Jake?"

"Sleeping," Dia explained. "The only reason we're here is because Dad doesn't give a can of severed squirrel feet for what we do most of the time. Jake probably could have snuck in here with us, but he was too tired." Suddenly, Dia started laughing. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something," Dia told her allies.

"About what?" Max asked, turning away from the dashboard.

Dia shrugged. "It's nothing much, but since Emma can change the game, I decided to try my hand at messing with some stuff. I pictured Ansem and Seymour calling each other man-ladies, and then insulting each other's moms."

Sora laughed. "You can't control darkness, Dia. Emma's tried that already. But that would be hilarious, huh?"

"Yeah, that'd be awesome," Dia agreed. "Too bad it probably won't happen."


	14. Bow Down to Me, Girly Man

"What came over Maester Seymour and me?" Ansem wondered. He and the guardian were sitting in his study. "That could not have simply been us acting on our own. And how is it that you are able to talk now?"

"Ponder that at a later time, Ansem," Guardian ordered in a scratchy voice. "We must prepare for the Keyblade Master's arrival. He will be coming for the Dark Keyblade, so he can free the Princesses of Heart."

Ansem nodded. "We can attack him when he comes. But what of that pesky girl? She is a great threat to us. We refused to admit it before. She will not only prevent us from changing the plot to our tastes, but she will change it to her own."

Guardian snapped his pointed fingers. "I will summon a few Wyverns to fetch her."

"Very well. Have them bring her to me."

"This is a crucial job. It is in our best interests that I keep the girl. I will send the Keyblade Master and Riku to you."

Ansem sighed. "Why do I never get the fun jobs? It's always, 'Ansem, go to Destiny Islands and freak the Keyblade Master out! Ansem, go possess a teenage boy for a while!' You get to kidnap people!"

"Now, Ansem, you-"

"I'll have my own fun without you!" Ansem wailed. He sat down in a chair, then spun around. "Whee! I'm having fun! Watch me have fun! WATCH ME!" Ansem snapped at his guardian. He stopped abruptly. "Hold on! I know whose fault it is that we are being possessed! It must be the girl!"

Guardian shook his head. "It cannot be her. She is only concerned with saving her friends."

"The little boy?"

"Too innocent. Too stupid."

"Then it must be…"

"The teenager!" Ansem and Guardian exclaimed simultaneously.

Ansem put a gloved hand to his head. "I swear, I am going to kill her. Shall we kidnap her as well?"

"No, she would surely resist. Just kill her when you kill her younger brother and the king's lackeys."

"Kill the little boy?" Ansem repeated. "But he is no threat at all!"

"He may be. Keep an eye on him." Guardian disappeared in a wave of darkness.

Ansem grunted, then looked both ways. "WHEEEEEEEEEE!" he shrilled, spinning around and giggling insanely.

… … …

"Unlock my heart? How do we do that? And is it safe?" Sora clarified.

Riku led Sora, Emma, Dia, Donald, and Goofy through the passages of Hollow Bastion's castle. "We need to find the Dark Keyblade. You just have to stab yourself with it, and the hearts of the Princesses will be free. That includes Belle, Jasmine, Alice, and…Kairi." Sora nodded resolutely. "You'll release your own heart too, but Emma and Dia know how to turn you back to normal. Right?"

Emma gave him a thumbs-up. "You're supposed to turn into a Shadow Heartless, but I might be able to arrange for you to be a Wizard, or a Defender, or a…"

"WYVERN!"

"Yeah, or a Wyvern."

Riku shook his head wildly. "No, I mean there's a bunch of Wyverns coming at us!"

Around ten Wyverns flew toward Sora and Co., and stopped in front of them, not moving for a moment. "Whoa!" One of the Wyverns grabbed Emma, and flew off with her. "Let go of me, you freaks!"

"Emma!" Riku started to chase after them, but the other two Wyverns stopped him. He turned around. "Can you guys take care of these Heartless? I'm going to get Emma and the Dark Keyblade!"

Dia took out the Grand Mallet. "All right. It's four to nine, but we're stronger than these morons. Hurry up!" The rest of Sora and Co. took out their weapons, while Riku ran after the first Wyvern.

… … …

 _Huh, déjà vu._ Emma was tied to one of the columns in Ansem's study, as she had been in Oogie Boogie's lair.  _Maybe the Wyverns will let me down to play Casino. Do Wyverns play card games?_

Guardian chuckled evilly. "You are finally awake."

"No, I'm talking in my sleep," Emma told him sarcastically. She raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you're the guardian! How can you be talking?"

"You are not the only one who can change the game. It appears that one of your little friends is at fault. I would attribute my ability to speak to the little boy, seeing as your older friend's ability seems to be the possession of Ansem."

Emma grinned. "Really? Dia will do flips when she hears that!"

A faint smirk could be seen under Guardian's gauze. "Unfortunately, you'll never get to tell her. I intend to kill you, elementalist."

"Elementalist?" Emma repeated. She glanced down at her necklace. "Oh, yeah. If you're going to kill me, why haven't you done it already? Waiting for your lackeys to bring you a heart? No, that was Oogie Boogie. Waiting to spring some bad-guy speech on me? No, that was Riku. And pretty much every other villain in existence."

"I'm waiting for a certain someone. You see, I will not kill you if I get a good trade. For example, I would gladly trade your life for Riku's service."

Emma groaned. "Why are you obsessing over Riku?"

"He is a powerful boy, and he has already been imbued with the power of darkness. We require him."

"So do we." She swung her legs back and forth for a while. "Is Riku coming soon?"

"I do not know."

"Oh. I'm bored."

"Your life is at stake, and you are bored?"

"First off, my life's not at stake. Whenever I fought Ansem in Kingdom Hearts, it was him who made me faint a lot, not you. You just sort of irritated me. Second, yes, I am bored."

"Then I suggest you do something."

"I'm tied to a column."

"Do something that does not involve your arms or legs."

"Like what?"

Guardian groaned, and slapped himself in the head. "You expect me to know? I just want you out of my way until Riku arrives."

Emma shrugged. "Fair enough." She looked around. "Here's a llama, there's a llama, and another little llama! Fuzzy llama, funny llama, llama, llama, duck!"

Her captor whirled around. "What are you doing?" he hissed.

"Llama, llama, cheesecake, llama, tablet, brick, potato, llama, llama, llama, mushroom, llama, llama, llama, duck!"

"What is that even supposed to mean?"

"I was once a tree house, I lived in a cake! But I never saw the way, the orange slayed the rake! It was only three years dead, but it told a tale! And now listen, little child, to the safety rail!"

"STOP THAT!"

 _Tee-hee, this is fun._  Emma grinned at him. "Have you ever seen a llama kiss a llama on its llama? Llama's llama tastes of llama, llama, llama, duck! Half a llama, twice the llama, not a llama, farmer, llama, llama in a car, alarm a llama, llama, duck!"

"I'D KILL YOU RIGHT NOW IF I DIDN'T NEED YOU AS A TRADING ITEM!"

"Is that how it's told now? Is it all so old? Is it made of lemon juice? Doorknob, ankle, cold! Now my song is getting thin, I've run out of luck! Time for me to retire now, and become a duck!"

Guardian slowly uncovered his head. "Is it over now?"

"Yes, but it repeats over and over again! Here's a llama, there's a llama, and another little llama-"

"Emma, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but please shut up."

Emma and Guardian looked toward the door. "Riku!" Emma squealed. "You came to save me!"

Riku laughed. "Yeah, well, don't get too used to it." He pointed the Soul Eater at Guardian. "Let my friend go, and give me the Dark Keyblade!"

Guardian smirked. "As long as you serve as Ansem's vessel, you may have both the Keyblade and your little girlfriend."

Both Emma and Riku blushed. "I'm n-not his g-girlfriend!" Emma stammered.

"She's three years younger than me!" Riku added.

"Do we have a deal or not, boy?"

"…fine."

"Riku, you don't have to do this!"

Guardian nodded, and the Dark Keyblade appeared in his hand. "He does indeed, elementalist."

Riku held out his hand. "Now, give my the Dark Keyblade. And Emma."

"You must open yourself to the darkness first," Guardian instructed.

"How do I know you won't cheat and keep me, Emma, and the Keyblade?"

"You will have to trust me, I suppose."

"Not gonna happen! HYAH!" Riku ducked down and snatched the Dark Keyblade, then used it to cut Emma free. She immediately fell on the floor. "Oops. Sorry, Emma."

Emma rubbed her head, and stood up. "It's all right, Riku, but for future reference, there's a little thing called gravity you might want to watch out for." She yawned.  _Aw, man…it's getting late! I'm so tired…but I can't go to sleep now! This is a life or death matter!_

Guardian roared. "You insolent children!"

Riku grabbed Emma's hand, and ran down the hall. "Hey, why are we running from Guardian?" Emma wondered. "Can't we just…" She yawned mid-sentence, and rubbed her eyes. "…can't we just fight him?"

"He's the ultimate evil! We can't even put a scratch on him, especially not by ourselves! Why do you think you only have to fight Ansem in the game, and not Guardian?"

"Oh." Emma yawned again, this time loudly, and faltered a bit.  _NO! I CAN'T GO TO SLEEP NOW! I CAN'T…I can't…_ Nevertheless, Emma fell down, and starting snoring. "Good night, moon…" she mumbled.

Riku groaned. "Emma! Now?" He slowly and carefully picked Emma up, and hoisted her onto his shoulder. "You owe me a whole lot of munny when you wake up," he grunted, and started running again. He glanced back, and noticed that Guardian was gaining speed. "AGH!"

"Rocky-rock horse goes fast, mommy…"

"SHUT UP, EMMA!"

… … …

"Riku! What's going on? And is Emma okay?" Sora called, sitting on the Grand Hall's platform.

Riku ran in, panting heavily. He set Emma and the Dark Keyblade down. "She's fine. She just got tired and fell asleep. I've got the Dark Keyblade, but Guardian's coming for me, so we've got to do this quickly."

Sora grabbed the Dark Keyblade. "So…I just stab myself with this?"

"RIKU!" Guardian snarled, knocking open the doors. "WE HAVE COME FOR YOU!"

A silver flash flew past Riku, and he clutched his head. Dia rapidly poked Emma's shoulder. "Emma, wake up! For Pete's sakes, pay attention!"

Emma sat up and rubbed her eyes. "That hurt, Dia," she lamented. Her eyes widened. "Riku!"

Riku laughed menacingly. There was a second tone in the background of his voice, signaling Ansem's return. "Well, well, well. If it isn't you fools."

"We're gonna kill you, Ansem!" Emma vowed, springing to her feet.

Riku/Ansem shook his head. "It is I who will kill YOU, elementalist…FOR NOT LETTING ME GO TO THE PROM! I HATE YOU, MOMMY! YOU DON'T REMEMBER WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE MY AGE!" He immediately covered his mouth. "What is happening to me?" he asked in a muffled voice.

Dia snickered. "I don't believe it! I can actually control you! Now, do a little dance!" Riku/Ansem spun around, then started prancing around the Grand Hall. "Man, I love this power. Hey, Sora?" Sora, who was previously preoccupied with staring at his possessed friend, looked up. "Stab yourself already! Ever heard of stalling?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Sora tried his best to ignore Riku/Ansem, who was now singing 'Rich Girl' by Gwen Stefani, completely off key. He raised the Dark Keyblade. "This is for you, Kairi."

"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na!" Riku/Ansem glanced over at Sora, then ran toward him, yelping, "NO!"

Dia stepped in front of Riku/Ansem, and wagged her finger at him. "Shouldn't you be obeying my every command, Mr. Fluffy-Doody?"

Riku/Ansem stared blankly at her. "What did you just call me?"

"Mr. Fluffy-Doody!" Dia chirped. "That's your name, right? You're fluffy, you're doody, and nine out of ten scientists believe you're a guy! You're Mr. Fluffy-Doody! Now, kid!"

Sora nodded and plunged the Dark Keyblade into his chest. Golden orbs of light floated out of him, and into the Princesses of Heart. Emma started humming 'Simple and Clean' as the princesses woke up. "Come on, guys, open their cases!"

Donald and Goofy looked worried. "But-" Goofy started.

Dia shook her head. "Sora will be fine. Just open the cases!"

Emma clambered up to Kairi's case like a monkey, albeit a clumsy one, and rapped on the glass. Kairi rubbed her eyes, and peered oddly at the other girl. "Who are you? And why am I in this thing?"

"I'm one of Sora and Riku's friends. I'll tell you about why you're in there later." Emma used her metal pole like a crowbar, and pried open the case. "Right now, we've got to get back to the others."

Kairi reluctantly crawled back down with Emma, then walked over to Donald, Goofy, and Dia, who had retrieved Alice, Jasmine, Belle, Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White. Kairi gasped. "Sora!" she cried. Before she could grab Sora, an eight light floated out of him, and he disappeared. "Sora! What happened?"

Ansem stood beside the group, in his real body. "I had anticipated that it would take more to destroy the Keyblade Master," he murmured. "No matter. I, like, totally love ponies, and cupcakes, and, like, cute boys! REAL-WORLDER!" he bellowed. Dia whistled innocently. "Now that your leader is gone, I shall ensure that the rest of you share his fate. Ugh…" Ansem clutched his head. "No! Stay out of this!"

An image of Riku appeared next to him, surrounded by a yellow light. "I won't let you hurt my friends!" Riku yelled. "Get out of here, guys! The Heartless are coming!"

Dia held one hand out the mob of approaching Shadows. "Hey! Whichever one of you is Sora, I command you to become a Wyvern!" Suddenly, a maroon-colored dragon-like creature rose up from the quivering mass of Shadows. "Well, all right! I like these new powers more and more! Mind if we hitch a ride, Sora?" Sora obligingly hovered next to Dia. "Hop on, we're headed back to the Main Hall!"

"There won't be enough room for all of us," Jasmine pointed out.

"Go to the Castle Chapel!" Riku told the princesses. "The Heartless can't enter there! Kairi, you go with Sora!"

The confused princesses ran out of the Grand Hall, while Emma, Donald, Goofy, and Dia sat down on Sora's back. "Riku!" Emma called. "You'll be all right, won't you?"

"Of course I will!"

"We're coming back for you," Dia announced.

Riku laughed. "What am I, a hot potato? Don't bother, they'll just take me back."

Emma grinned. "Then we'll take you back after they take you back! See you later, Riku!" Riku smiled and waved as his image faded.

… … …

"Everybody off!" Dia ordered as Sora landed in front of the Main Hall. "You okay, Emma?"

Emma nodded, trying to stifle another yawn. "Just a little tired. I normally go to bed around 10:30, so I'm not used to being up this late. I'll just sleep in tomorrow. Taylor won't care, will he?"

"Of course not. He wouldn't care if a drunken hunter knocked on his door and asked for circus peanuts, then shot him in the head with a blowgun."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing," Emma and Dia replied at the same time.

Dia pointed at the Wyvern who was once the Keyblade Master. "Now, hug him."

Kairi turned red. "Are you sure it will work?"

"Do you need an excuse?" Emma chuckled. Kairi got even redder, and threw her arms around the Heartless's neck. In a flash of light, Sora appeared in his place. "There you go! Not only are you back to normal, Donald didn't have to hit you."

Sora rubbed his head, as if the very thought gave him a headache. "Thank goodness for that." He glanced down. "Kairi? I think you can stop hugging me now." Kairi quickly let go and shuffled away. "So…what do we do now?"

Emma rammed her shoulder into the castle's door, trying to push it open. "We go to Traverse Town. We never had the Fairy Godmother look at the Watergleam, did we?"

Dia shook her head. "We'd better get whatever summon's in there to come out. It's a shame we killed Maleficent before we could get the Fireglow," she remarked. "And since there's no Winnie the Pooh, there's no Naturespark. And remember to give us a better summon, Emma. Dumbo's cute and all, being a flying baby elephant and all, but he's not too strong."

"I was already thinking that," Emma agreed. "I was thinking that an Aeon might make a nice addition to the team."

… … …

"Another summon? All right, dears, let's see what we've got." The Fairy Godmother tapped the Watergleam with her wand.

Emma squeezed her eyes shut.  _Come on!_  A neighing sound filled Merlin's study, and a bolt of lightning struck the floor. A large unicorn, probably around eight feet tall, appeared. "Yes!" she exclaimed.

Donald jumped back. "What is that thing?"

"It's Ixion, the Thunder Aeon," Dia told them. "Yuna has one just like him."

Goofy patted Ixion's flanks. "Aw, he's a good horsey!"

"Unicorn," Donald corrected. "Do you think Sora and Kairi are done in the waterway?"

Emma laughed. "It doesn't take that long to get a Keyblade and a charm, Donald. Unless, of course, they're doing more than that. Let's go meet up with them." Ixion knelt down. "Huh? Oh, thanks, Ixion!" Emma attempted to crawl onto the electricity-charged unicorn's back. "I guess we're getting another ride!"

Dia grinned. "I know I've said this a million times, but I'm loving this game more and more."


	15. Ansem's Replica

"Where did Sora and Kairi go?" Emma, Dia, Donald, Goofy, and Ixion were standing in front of the waterway, but Sora and Kairi weren't. Emma looked around. "Sora! Kairi!"

Dia also looked around. "Yo, lovebirds! Where are you?" she called.

"They…they went to Cid's house," a weak voice announced.

Goofy took out his shield. "Who are you?"

A silver-haired boy was lying on the ground near some crates, his face turned sideways. "It's me," he murmured. "I…I got away…but…I got pretty beat-up again."

Emma ran forward. "Riku! Are you okay? What happened? How are you back to normal?"

Riku lifted his head up, showing a few scrapes on his cheek. He laughed weakly. "Slow down, Emma. The Princesses of Heart helped me…I knew they had strong hearts, but I didn't know what they could do. They separated me from Ansem for the time being. I teleported myself here, but I collapsed before I could find you. Like I said, he and Guardian will probably come back for me, so I can't stay long."

"And like I said, we'll just take you back!" Emma grabbed his hand, and helped him to his feet. "How do you know that Sora and Kairi are at Cid's house?"

"Because that's where they said they were going," Riku said slowly, as if he was explaining something to a young child. "I've been on the ground for a while…I heard Sora tell Kairi that they should stay at Cid's house until you guys came back."

"Oh. New destination, Ixion!" Ixion neighed and trotted over. "Meet our new summon!"

Riku reluctantly pet the Aeon. "I guess he's sort of cute…" Ixion kneeled again; Dia and Emma helped Riku on. "It's good to be back with you guys," he decided.

"How sappy and random." Dia patted him on the back. "Good to have you back, Riku."

… … …

"We all really live in a video game?" Kairi was sitting in a chair in Cid's house, looking intently at Sora. "How is that possible?"

Sora shrugged. "I don't have a clue, but it's the truth. Hey!" He stood up as Sora and Co. walked in. "Riku! You're here!"

Riku grinned. "Of course I am! Did you really expect me to go down that easily?"

Sora grinned back. "You're right. It's time to lock Hollow Bastion!"

Kairi pouted. "Please let me come with you guys! I want to see other worlds! That's what you promised that we would do!"

"I didn't know about the Heartless then."

"I don't care, Sora! You promised. You, me, Riku, and the others are going to travel the universe, together!"

Sora finally caved in, sighing. "Okay, you can come." Kairi jumped up and down, and clapped her hands. "But you have to promise that you won't get in the way."

Kairi narrowed her eyes. "Sora!" she chirped indignantly.

Dia looked at her watch. "Man, we've really got to leave! Save the Dark Depths for us, all right?"

"Huh? Where are they going?" Kairi wondered.

"They live in the real world, not the game, so they have to go home. They can only be with us at certain times," Sora explained. He, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kairi waved. "See you tomorrow!"

… … …

Emma yawned. "Good morning, Dia." She sat up and surveyed her surroundings. She was still in her sleeping bag, but she in a blank white area. "Hey! What's going on? Where am I?"

"In your mind," a voice told her. "You are dreaming…but what I have come to tell you is real."

 _What? I'm dreaming?_ Emma looked around for the source of the voice. "Show yourself!" Ansem appeared in front of her, but in a flash of light, not a wave of darkness.  _Okay, this is confusing._

Ansem bowed his head slightly. "I suppose you want to know why I'm here, Miss Baecker."

Emma nodded. "Of course I do! And why did you just call me Miss Baecker? Aren't you supposed to be calling me 'elementalist', or 'that pesky girl'?"

Ansem blinked at her. "What do you mean?" Emma didn't reply, so he continued on. "In the World Terminus, in the Hollow Bastion crater, there is a lab, correct?"

Emma thought for a moment. "Oh, yeah! All those Invisible Heartless attack you there."

"Correct. The message that is displayed on the screen is supposed to be vague and relatively unimportant, but the message has changed. Make sure that you and your allies read it."

"How do I know that I can trust you? You're Ansem!" Emma yelled.

Ansem blinked at her again, then laughed. "Oh, that must be why you appear so perturbed! You think I am Ansem!"

"Aren't you?" Emma looked closer at him. He had brown eyes instead of red ones. His jacket was closed, and instead of having red and gold stripes on the edges, there were blue and silver stripes.

"No. Have you played the game called Chain of Memories?"

"Yeah."

"Then you know about Vexen and his experiments?"

"Yeah."

"When Ansem lost his heart, Vexen's Other, or his true form, Even, decided that he would try to take over Hollow Bastion. He would construct a replica of Ansem, and implant Ansem's memories inside of it. He thought that he would indirectly be the king, because he would be telling the replica what to do."

Emma scratched her head. "So…Even created you?"

"Vexen created me. I was created after Organization XIII was formed, very shortly after, and Vexen carried out his Other's plan. However, he never got to control that world; not only had it deteriorated, I was compelled to help the inhabitants escape. A few years later, I learned that Ansem was planning to send a real-worlder into our universe. I hinted that one girl would surely have the Keyblade Master killed." Ansem's replica smiled. "However, she has done nothing of the sort. She has been a veritable gold mine of help to him."

"What?" Emma's eyes widened. "You gave me the cheat code?"

"I did. I could not have this universe infested with darkness, could I?"

Emma shook her head slowly. "I guess not…can't you tell me what the message in the lab is?"

"You must get there by yourself. Farewell, Miss Baecker."

"Call me Emma, okay? What do I call you?"

"I have no name."

"Can I give you one? Just calling you 'Replica' wouldn't be too respectful, huh? Let's see…Dia calls your real form Mr. Fluffy-Doody."

Ansem's replica raised his eyebrows. "You may give me a name, Miss Baecker…er, Emma…but I insist on one that is normal, or at least sane."

"Fair enough. Well, your hair's silver…that's Gin in Japanese, but that's not the best name. The way to say gray in Japanese is Haiiro. I like that name. Is that okay?"

Haiiro nodded. "It is fine. I shall see you again, Emma." He bowed.

Emma bowed in return. "Thanks for the tip. I'm gonna wake up now." She clenched her fists, and she disappeared.

… … …

"Nice to meet you, Kairi!" Sora and Co. were standing in the Grand Hall; Jake heartily shook Kairi's hand. "I'm Jake!"

Kairi giggled. "It's nice to meet you, too! So, are we going to lock Hollow Bastion now?"

Sora held out the Metal Chocobo Keyblade. "Of course! Come on!" He and his allies jumped into the Dark Depths.

Once they entered, they were greeted by the towering Behemoth. "Yikes, it's even creepier in person!" Dia commented. The Heartless roared loudly, prompting Dia to start hacking and coughing. "This guy needs a breathmint!" she gasped, trying to get fresh air back into her lungs.

Jake ran off into the distance. "Cool! It's like a never-ending, swirly, rainbow thing!"

"Hey! Come back, Jake!" Kairi called.

Everyone stared blankly at her. "Kairi!" Sora yelled. "What are you doing here?"

Kairi clenched her fists. "I want to help you guys fight! You spent all this time looking for me, so I owe you something! I must have SOME powers, seeing as I'm one of the seven Princesses of Heart!" She strode over to the Behemoth, and held out her hands. "Um…shouldn't something be happening?"

Sora and Co. sighed. "I don't know, try to make up a power," Emma offered. "Later in the game, not too far from where we are now, you completely rebuild every world that has been destroyed. Whenever a world is destroyed, a star goes out; when you go back to the islands, practically a million stars fly out from the horizon, and return to the sky. The hearts of the people who were turned into Heartless make the islands look as good as new. Even better, actually, because it's an FMV. That means 'full-motion video'. Cool, huh?" Kairi seemed mesmerized by Emma's words. "If you can do something incredible like that, I'm sure you can find a way to kick Behemoth's giant, purple butt."

"You're right, Emma!" Kairi nodded firmly. "What happens when a Heartless is destroyed?"

"A heart floats out of it. A crystal heart."

Kairi looked triumphant. "Then I'll make that heart come out!" She held her hands out again, this time directed toward the Behemoth's Heartless insignia. "Heart goes bye-bye!"

Donald scoffed. "Heart goes bye-bye? Like that's supposed to-"

"WOW!" squealed Jake, who had ran back over. An enormous, diamond-like heart floated out of the Behemoth, and both disappeared. "Way to go, Kairi!"

Sora held out the Oblivion, and locked the keyhole that had been revealed. "YES! We've gotten really close to beating the game, right, Emma?"

Emma nodded. "After we finish things up in Spira, we can go to the End of the World, and we'll be all done!"

… … …

"Drive faster, Max!" Dia urged, jabbing Sora and Co.'s chauffeur with her index finger.

Max twitched. "All right, all right! What's the hurry?"

Dia leaned back in her seat. "I can't wait to kill that blue-haired man-lady, Seymour!"

Emma laughed. "Who doesn't? Oh, and guys? Yuna has a new Aeon. Be prepared, okay?"

Riku shrugged. "Sure. What do we need to be prepared for?"

"Shiva is one of the only Aeons with a gender…she's a girl."

"And millions of male gamers are in love with her, so keep your tongues off the floor," Dia added.

The males of Sora and Co., excluding Jake, who had already seen Shiva, rolled their eyes. "Come on, Emma!" Sora groaned. "Like we'd really be in love with a summon." He stopped talking for a moment. "…is she hot?" Kairi glared and ground Sora's foot into the floor. "OW! I was kidding!"

Jake smiled. "I don't think we have to worry about someone liking Shiva, Emmie. Max isn't coming, I think Shiva's weird, Sora likes Kairi, Donald likes Daisy, Goofy…I don't know what happened with whoever he was married to, and I don't think I want to know, but Max probably wouldn't like having an Aeon as a step-mom. And Riku likes-"

Riku clamped his hand over the seven-year-old's mouth. "Be quiet."

"Okay, as fun as this conversation is, we're here." Max pushed some direction buttons, then pushed a large one. "Disembarking at Macalania!"

… … …

"Hey!" Sora and Co. ran down the steps of Macalania Temple's outer chamber. Tidus and Co. were standing in front of Seymour, with their weapons out. "What's going on?" Goofy asked.

Auron turned around. "We're fighting Seymour. Do you need an excuse?"

"Nope, my excuse is that I hate the man-lady's guts." Emma took out her metal pole. "Guys, this is Riku. And Kairi."

Riku and Kairi bowed their heads. "Nice to meet you!" Kairi waved. "I'm sorry I can't help you fight…I can't do any damage to humans."

"Seymour is a Guado, not a human," Wakka corrected.

"Same difference."

Seymour looked a bit tired, but not at all harmed. "Are you quite done talking? If I'm going to kill you, which I intend to do, I'd like to do so fairly; in a battle." He raised one hand. "Come, Anima!" The fish-like Aeon that he had summoned at the Luca Stadium appeared.

Yuna smiled at her part-time guardians. "The Fayth gave me a new Aeon," she told them. "I'll bet she can help us!" Dia winked at the boys of Sora and Co. Yuna spun her staff around in a circle. "Shiva, come forth!"

Several icicles shot out of the floor. A blue-skinned, blue-haired, blue-clothed woman sat atop the highest one. Riku shivered involuntarily. "This reminds me of Yuki Naifu."

"What's Yuki Naifu?" Yuna asked.

Emma bit her lip. "It's sort of an…Overdrive. It uses the power of ice. I had it before, but SOMEONE…" She glared at Goofy out of the corner of her eye. "…chucked the stone that I need to use it into a whale's stomach acid! I'm serious."

Shiva leapt down from her icicle, and peered down at Emma. "If you'd like, I can return the stone to you."

Dia raised an eyebrow. "Hey, how is Shiva talking?"

Jake grinned at his older sister. "I wanted her to talk!"

Sora and Co. exchanged glances at each other, ignoring Tidus and Co., who were staring at them. "So, Jake's power is to make non-human things talk," Goofy deduced.

"Could he have been responsible for Guardian talking?" Donald wondered.

Jake nodded. "I wanted him to talk, too!"

Emma focused on Shiva. "How do I get my stone back?"

"I have heard it said that your stones are made from the pure energy of the elements," Shiva remarked, pointing at Emma's necklace.

"How did you know?"

"A nice man named Haiiro came by not too long ago…are you familiar with him?"

Emma laughed. "I guess you could say that."

Shiva took Emma's wrist, and opened her hand. "You will feel extreme coldness, but please, don't let go of this." She put an icicle on her palm. Emma twitched. "Calm down, it won't give you frostbite."

"Are you sure?" Emma whined, still wincing from the chill. The icicle had completely melted.  _Whoa, it worked!_  In the ice's place was a small, blue pebble. "Thank you, Shiva! You did it!"

Shiva smiled. "Haiiro also told me that you tried to kill that boy with the Blizzard Stone." Riku drooped a little. "Do you think you can control yourself?"

"Emma will be fine," Sora told her confidently. "She wouldn't hurt her friends, even with the effects of the stone going! She only attacked Riku back in Monstro because he was trying to kill her, too."

Emma nodded, and strung the stone back onto her necklace. "I'm tired of being a good sport," Seymour announced, clearly annoyed. "Anima, attack!"

A blue mist filled the outer chamber, and Emma clutched the Blizzard Stone. "YUKI NAIFU!"


	16. The Prophecy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hover over the Al Bhed text for a translation.

Emma advanced to Shiva's side, wielding her silver-and-blue knife. Rikku jumped back as she passed her. "Cra'c ymm pmia!" she exclaimed. "Yht cra muugc cu lnaabo!"

"Rikku says that Emma looks creepy," Yuna translated quickly. "I have to admit, she does look sort of menacing…is everything all right?"

Dia nodded, and leaned against the wall. "Nothing to worry about, Yuna; just sit back, and watch a preteen and a talking Aeon beat the dookie out of a man-lady."

Shiva held out her hands. "Heavenly Strike!" An enormous slab of ice appeared, and dropped on top on Anima. It let out an agonized roar. "Oh, did that measly block harm you? Then I suggest you run away as soon as possible, because I'm just getting started."

"So are we, girls. So are we," Seymour murmured. He gave them a cold, bland smile. "Pain!"

Obediently, Anima turned its head. Its eyes started glowing, and with a flicking movement, sent a small, shining mass of energy at Shiva. She smirked. "Thank you, Maester. With two more blasts from that fish-Aeon of yours, I'll be at full Overdrive." Seymour narrowed his eyes.

"Overdrive?" Kairi repeated. "What's that?"

"It's sort of a super-attack," Sora explained. "Like Emma's stones."

Emma lightly scraped Shiva with her knife. "That should give you enough ice energy to give you a full meter."

Shiva smiled. "Let's destroy this corrupted Aeon, then, shall we?" Then, she shook her head. "Upon further thought, I'd like to do this alone. You must save your energy to fight Seymour." Emma nodded, and Shiva closed her eyes again. "Diamond Dust!" Ice crawled up Anima's sides. Once he was completely surrounded, Shiva snapped. All the icicles cracked, and Anima roared in pain again.

For the next several minutes, the fight continued in this cycle; Emma regenerated Shiva's Overdrive gauge, Shiva used Diamond Dust, and Anima snarled at them. Finally, the Aeon toppled to the ground, and disappeared. Seymour took out his staff. "You will pay dearly for this."

Emma glanced back at Dia, who grinned. "Don't bother saying anything, Em! I know what to do."

"Great, just don't call me Em. It brings back bad memories."

Dia adjusted her sunglasses. "Sure thing." She strode over to Seymour. "Hey, Seymour, are you a pretty girl?"

Seymour straightened himself jerkily, and confirmed, "I'm a VERY pretty girl!" He covered his mouth. "What's happening?"

"Would you like to sing a song, Maester Man-Lady?"

Lulu tried to force back a smile, but ultimately failed. "Aren't you going to stab him while he's distracted?"

Emma scoffed. "Who said this was a distraction? I just want to see Seymour sing."

Dia held the Grand Mallet like a conductor's baton. "I've got the perfect song for you!" She began to hum a bouncy intro.

It was clear that Seymour had snapped as he put on a sickeningly happy grin. "I feel pretty! Oh, so pretty! I feel pretty, and witty, and GAAAAAAAAAAY! And I pity any pretty girl who isn't me today!"

Kimahri nodded. "Yes, Kimahri agrees with Maester. Maester is very gay."

"I feel dizzy! I feel sunny! I feel fizzy, and funny, and FIIIIIIIIIINE! And so pretty, Miss American can just resign!" He laughed maniacally, and bounced straight into a wall. "Mommy, the wall doesn't want to play!" he bawled.

Jake stuck out his tongue. "Too bad, you KILLED your mommy. Your cue, Emmie!"

Emma twirled her knife around in her hand. "Oh, fine. But I wanted to hear him sing a few more lines."

Seymour stood up. "I won't go down that easily!" he vowed. "I am Maester Seymour Guado, the one and only! I have plans for Spira! Big plans!" While he spoke, his sleeves jerked slightly. "I refused to let two little girls destroy my…what have you done?" Seymour's sleeves had forcibly folded themselves across his chest, making a straitjacket. "Let me go!"

Dia backed away from the struggling Maester. "He's all yours."

Emma held out her knife, and drove it into Seymour's chest. "Ha!" Seymour looked down; there was no blood coming out of him. "Your attack is futile, little girl. I feel no-" He turned pale. Blue lines ran through him, stemming from the knife, filling him with ice. "…pain…" he murmured, his last word as he fell down.

"We killed Seymour!" Rikku exclaimed happily.

Dia shook her head. "Sorry, but he's not dead. He'll be back." Rikku's expression faded quickly. "You'll kill him eventually, though, but you'll have to do it alone." She shrugged apologetically. "We have to leave."

Tidus and Co. did the Spiran Prayer, not questioning the teenager's words. "We understand," Wakka told her. "You're probably real busy, yah?"

"Sort of," Riku told him.

"I don't think that the crossing-over of our stories has ended," Auron remarked. "We'll meet again."

Emma smiled. "Hopefully."

"Keyhole!" Sora exclaimed. A small keyhole had appeared on the temple doors. He brought out the Oblivion, and locked it. "So…do I get a new keychain now?"

"Keychain?" Rikku asked. "Haven't seen one, nope!" Kimahri elbowed her sharply. "Aw, but it's so pretty!"

Kimahri sighed. "Sora do good thing for us in Luca. Emma do good thing for us now. Kimahri say, good people deserve good thing. Least we do is give Sora keychain."

Rikku stomped around, then thrust the keychain at Sora. "Pek sayhea! E fyhdat dra bnaddo lryeh...ev Kimahri ec nekrd, E kiacc oui cruimt ryja drec, pid E cdemm fyhd ed!"

Sora blinked. "Um…all right. Thanks."

Kairi waved. "It was nice to meet you!" Tidus and Co. waved back as Sora and Co. crammed around the FFX save point, a floating, white orb, and disappeared.

… … …

Sora waved his new Keyblade, the Diamond Dust, around in the air, making it sparkle. "This looks awesome, Emma! Thanks a lot."

"No problem." Emma motioned Dia and Jake to the back of the Valefor. "We've got to go now, but we'll see you guys later today!" They went into the back room.

Once the trio had left, Riku sighed. "I was thinking…do you think Emma knows that I like her?"

Kairi put her hands over her mouth. "You like Emma?"

Riku groaned and slouched in his seat. "And yet another person knows."

The red-head giggled. "Don't worry, I was just kidding. Sora told me already!"

"What?" Riku swiftly turned around, his eyes blazing. "You told her? YOU TOLD HER?" Sora nodded meekly. "WHO ELSE DID YOU TELL?"

Sora shielded his face. "Dia, Jake, Donald, Goofy, and Max…"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE PUNK!"

"I'm only a year younger than you!"

Emma poked her head out from the back room, then quickly withdrew. "I guess you guys were right," she mumbled, stunned.

Jake squealed. "So, do you-"

"Be quieter," Dia scolded her younger brother. "The others think that we've left already."

Jake nodded, then continued, "Do you like Riku back?"

Emma shook her head, looking sad. "Not really. But I like him enough that I don't want to see him get upset when he finds out. So don't tell him anything, okay? Not that I do, not that I don't. Just don't say anything." Dia and Jake nodded reluctantly. "Thank you. We should leave now." They stepped onto the save point, and were enveloped in a green light.

… … …

Emma and Alissa were having lunch in their dining room, quietly eating, not saying a word. "Emma? Can I ask you something?" Emma looked up from her turkey sandwich, and across the table at her mother. "What do you think about Taylor?"

Emma shrugged. "It doesn't matter what I think, does it? It matters if YOU like him. Why?"

Alissa musingly stirred her soup, not really paying attention. "So…" she said finally, "…you wouldn't mind if Taylor and I got married?"

"WHAT?" Emma gagged on the sandwich, hitting her chest with the side of her fist. "Are you serious?" she demanded. "You two haven't even been dating for two weeks!"

"Calm down, we're not planning on getting married any time soon," Alissa assured her daughter. "I just want to know if you'd mind if we got married some day."

 _Mom? Getting married to Taylor?_ Emma sighed. "I don't know…I don't want anyone to replace Dad, but I'd get to be Dia and Jake's stepsister."

Alissa reached across the table and put her hand on Emma's shoulder. "Nobody could replace your dad, Emma. He was an amazing man…I just thought you might want a father figure, and some siblings that you care about."

 _Amazing? Yeah, that was Dad. I don't particularly like Taylor, but if Mom wants to marry him, I think she should._ Emma grinned. "If you say so, Mom. I guess that'd be nice."

Alissa grinned back. "I think it'd be nice, too."

… … …

"I couldn't ask for a better stepsister!" Dia exclaimed as Emma told her and Jake the good news later that day. "I wish I could have met your dad. From what you say about him, he sounds great."

"He was," Emma agreed. She and the rest of Sora and Co. were walking through the Gate to the Dark. Emma watched a dark energy ball pass through the floor. "I miss him. Do you miss your mom?"

Dia and Jake exchanged glances. "She was sort of weird," Dia admitted. "But we miss her. I wanted to be just like Mom…my look right now is pretty much identical to hers. Except for the big, red tattoo next to her right eye. That would hurt even more," she laughed. "I had a washable tattoo like that for a while, though." She stopped laughing, and sighed. "Mom and Dad got a divorce six years ago. I was only ten. Jake didn't even get to know her, 'cause he was only one year old."

Jake nodded. "Daddy says that he and Mommy were just too different."

 _Six years ago?_  Emma thought. She scratched her head. "What day did your mom actually leave?"

Dia thought momentarily. "I wrote it down in my diary…I don't have one anymore, mind you!" she added defensively. "I think it was mid-March."

Emma stared at her friend. "That's…that's around the time that my dad died!"

Sora frantically motioned to them from up ahead. "Hurry up, guys!" Emma, Dia, and Jake dropped their conversation and ran over.

For the next few minutes, Sora and Co. ran around End of the World, destroying the Behemoth and traversing the mini-levels. Emma groaned as she and the others entered a bright, happy, cartoony forest clearing. "This is the 100 Acre Wood," she told the game characters glumly. "I didn't bother changing it. After all, we only come here for the save point."

"Pooh! Pooh! Pooh!" Jake chanted.

Of course, the game characters knew nothing of Winnie-the-Pooh, so they were obviously confused. "You can go to the bathroom behind that bush, Jake," Sora noted.

Jake stopped. "What? Gross, no!" Emma and Dia laughed. "We were supposed to come to this level, and meet a stuffed bear named Winnie-the-Pooh. Emma took him out, but I like him."

Emma looked confused. "Jake…? Do you still watch Winnie-the-Pooh?" Jake nodded vigorously. "You're almost eight years old right?" He nodded again. "And you still watch Pooh?"

"He watches poo?" Kairi asked in disgust.

"WINNIE-THE-POOH, YOU VALLEY GIRL!" Dia yelled.

Everyone took their turns stepping onto the save point. "Okay, we're happy, we're healed, let's go already!" Emma insisted.

"Why are we in such a hurry?" Riku asked, stepping off.

"Has Ansem told you about anyone named Haiiro?" Riku shook his head. "Okay, have either Maleficent or Ansem told you about the lab in the Hollow Bastion crater? And the message in it?" He nodded. "It changed, just because Dia, Jake, and I came."

"Who told you? The Haiiro guy?"

"Yeah. Let's go!"

… … …

After destroying a round of Invisibles, Sora and Co. walked up to the computer in the Hollow Bastion crater. Emma pushed to the front of the group. "Can I read it?" She was met with general murmurs of approval, so she cleared her throat. "The darkness is powerful, but the light can combat it, even assimilate it. The worlds are in chaos, but three fighters will arise to halt the darkness. I think that's Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They will be able to distract the darkness, but another three must aid in its destruction, those of halved lineage. That's us, but what's that supposed to mean?"

Dia shrugged. "Maybe it means that we only have one parent each. But why would that matter?"

Emma also shrugged. "Two others will aid the cause, one immersed in darkness, and one immersed in light. I think that's Riku and Kairi. Two years pass in the real world…two weeks pass in the true story…two new fighters will arise at that time."

Donald looked considerably upset. "We won't be able to see you two weeks?"

"Stop whining!" Sora ordered. "Two YEARS are going to pass for them! Does it say why, Emma?"

Emma shook her head. "Nothing. Only the elementalist, the possessor, and the animist can open the rift to darkness. That's Dia, Jake, and me again. Once the rift to darkness is opened, the real world will flood with darkness, but these ten heroes can combat it. These ten will be aided by seven more fighters, although they are not quite heroes, and will require persuasion to help. Why would we want darkness to come to the real world? And is that even possible?"

"Maybe it's so we can lock the real world, so Heartless won't be able to come while we're in the game?" Jake suggested.

"Once the real world has been saved, the fighters, now only nine remaining, will reenter the game," Emma continued. "Their entrance will create two new enemies, but has created two new allies. Nine more real-worlders will arrive, led by the fighter who was formerly part of the original ten fighters. There will be many obstacles in their way, and many shocking surprises, but they will defeat Organization XIII. I've heard about those guys. I guess that last paragraph was about Kingdom Hearts II."

Dia craned her head. "Is that it?"

Emma nodded. "It says DATA CORRUPTED at the bottom. Someone must have messed with the machine, and deleted something at the bottom, but I guess we'll find that out eventually."

Hoards of Invisibles reappeared, pointing their swords at Sora and Co. "Oh, joy. More Heartless," Sora grunted.

"Everyone, hold up your hand!" Emma ordered. Everyone in Sora and Co.'s MP drained out. "Sora, use Trinity Limit!" Sora obligingly put the tip of the Diamond Dust on the ground and spun around on it. Various lines of light spread through the floor; when they faded, only heaps of munny and item boxes remained. "Mine!"

"I saw it first!" Sora yelled back. He, Donald, Goofy, Emma, Dia, Jake, Riku, and Kairi all bumped heads while diving for the munny. "Ow…let's just add this to the group fund."

… … …

Haiiro was sitting in the dark area around Kingdom Hearts, his feet dangling off the edge of the cliff. "I do hope they arrive soon…that Ansem must be stopped." He blinked. "I am talking to myself. Odd."

Guardian appeared next to him. "Not quite, replica. I have a warrant for you."

"What? From who? And why?"

"From Ansem. And why else would he want you? For aiding the Keyblade Master and the elementalist, of course! You aided in the 'assassination' of Maester Seymour Guado by giving that Aeon information on how to return the elementalist's Blizzard Stone," the bony Heartless snarled. "And most of all, you thwarted his plans to overrule the universe with darkness by bringing those three children!"

Haiiro grinned. "How would I know that those three would be the best choices?"

Guardian grabbed his collar. "They are the only ones who fit the prophecy's requirements! Three fighters of halved lineages!"

"Ah, but how would I know that Emma, Dia, and Jake would become friends ahead of time, hmm?" Guardian growled. "That's right, my friend, I had no hand in this. It was the hand of destiny. I may have called Emma, but it was fate that I would not need to seek out Dia and Jake, that Emma would meet them in time."

"Filthy replica…no matter." Guardian smirked, causing Haiiro to look a little worried. "The children will not be able to save the universe. They must go through the part of the prophecy stating that they must let the Heartless into the real world. They will not."

Haiiro jerked back, and crossed his arms. "And why not?"

Guardian laughed menacingly. "Do you know what event will occur exactly two years from now today?"

"I cannot read the future."

"Yes, of course not. In exactly two years from now, the mother of the elementalist and the father of the possessor and the animist will be wed."

Haiiro looked aghast. "What? But…the children! They would not dare to unleash the Heartless on the wedding day of their parents…I have to tell them!"

Guardian lunged forward and got a hold on Haiiro's neck. "You will do no such thing! I am taking you to Ansem. You must not interfere with our battles!"

"Is that all you want? Fine. Emma, Dia, and Jake will figure out on their own, I suppose." Guardian and Haiiro disappeared.


	17. Sealing Kingdom Hearts

Sora and Co. jumped out of the Hollow Bastion crater. Once they had exited, the fire-red pillar blew out. Kairi looked oddly at the place that it had been. "Shouldn't there be a purple pillar now?"

Dia shook her head. "When we go to fight Chernabog, it's just a plain crater."

"What's Chernabog?" Donald asked.

Jake squealed loudly. "Chernabog! He's from a Disney movie called Fantasia! He's really big, like this!" He stood on the tip of his toes to make himself appear taller. "And he's got wings, like this!" He flailed his arms around insanely. "And he roars like this, RAWR!" he yelled where Donald's ear would be. Donald promptly fell over.

Emma laughed. "Let's just go fight Chernabog now, okay?"

Riku was the last one to jump in. Something grabbed his arm, however, and pulled him back. "Welcome back, you impudent rat."

"What do you want now, Guardian?" Riku demanded. "It's almost Homecoming!"

Guardian smirked. "Ansem wants you locked inside of Kingdom Hearts. If he takes you over, then resumes his true form, you will be trapped behind that door, with the mouse."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "What mouse? Are you telling me that the king Donald and Goofy are looking for is a mouse?" Guardian nodded. "That's just weird."

"Blame some dead real-worlder named Walt Disney." Guardian teleported away, grabbing onto Riku.

… … …

"What's taking Riku so long?" Sora wondered. He and the others were smacking and casting spells at Chernabog with their respective weapons. "You don't think Guardian got him, do you?"

Emma sighed. "I bet that's it. We'll see him soon…we'll just take him back."

"Myeh." Jake turned around. "Emmie, are any of your stones working?"

"I hope so." Emma looked down at her necklace; the purple stone was glowing. She clutched it, and a purple mist filled the area. "ANTARES!"

The rest of Sora and Co. stopped fighting. "Go, Emma!" Goofy cheered.

"…" Emma nodded, and took out her metal pole. She bashed Chernabog in the head with it. However, the attack didn't seem to have fazed him. Chernabog emitted a growling cackle. "…" Suddenly, he fell down a few feet further into the volcano. Emma hit him again, and he fell even further.

"I get it!" Dia exclaimed. "This is just like her Steel Angel attack! Donald, Sora, follow me!" They flew to the top of the volcano, which Chernabog was now tightly wedged in. "THUNDAGA!" she and Donald chorused.

"LET'S GO!" Sora yelled. Ixion appeared, nervously trying to fly. "THUNDAGA! THUNDAGA! THUNDAGA!" Instead of sending the spells down the sleeping volcano, Sora aimed them at Ixion, filling his Overdrive gauge. "Now! THOR'S HAMMER!"

Ixion charged lightning particles with his horn, then shot the ball of electricity down the volcano. Pink, blue, and white flames flew up through the volcano, and Chernabog burst. Emma, who had changed back to normal, laughed. "That's nasty."

… … …

"Heart goes bye-bye!" Kairi chirped as she and the rest of Sora and Co. approached the third Behemoth. A crystal heart flew out of it. "Whoo!"

Many Invisibles and Angel Stars appeared. "I hate this part," Emma lamented.

Sora nodded. "I can understand why," he told her, taking out the Diamond Dust and striking an Invisible. After a few minutes, the crest at the far end of the room had worn down, leaving a Heartless insignia-shaped hole. "Finally!" Sora and Co. jumped through. Sora stared blankly. "That's the door from my dream!"

Dia stretched her arms. "Heal up and equip stuff, guys; we're gonna be fighting Ansem a bunch of times without stopping."

Emma looked at the others. "The game's pretty much over. I guess we won't be seeing each other for a while…it's been fun, guys."

Goofy shook his head. "Don't say that, Emma! We'll see you in two weeks!"

"But it'll be two YEARS for us!" Jake reminded him.

Sora put one hand on the door. "Are we ready?" His allies nodded. "Let's defeat Ansem!" The door opened.

… … …

"Is this Destiny Islands?" Kairi asked. Sora and Co. were standing on a nice-looking beach, covered in lush palm trees and some wooden shacks. "This is Destiny Islands!" she exclaimed.

Emma nodded. "We have to go to the Secret Place."

Sora looked confused. "How do you know about the Secret Place?"

Dia laughed. "Everyone who's played Kingdom Hearts knows about it, Sora."

Ansem's deep voice echoed the words that he had told Sora before as the group approached the small cave. "This world has been connected. Tied to the darkness. Soon to be completely eclipsed." The water turned dark blue, and the whole island shook. "There is so much to learn. You understand so little. A meaningless effort." The area was flooded with a white light. "One who knows nothing can understand nothing."

Once the light cleared, Sora gasped. "What happened?" Destiny Islands looked like it had been ravaged by an earthquake. The shacks were ripped apart, and the entire island was a wreck. He looked at the coast. "Riku!" he cried, and used Superglide to fly over to him.

Riku didn't turn around, but he started talking. His voice had left completely; only Ansem's could be heard. "Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison surrounded by water. And so this boy sought out to escape from this prison," Ansem said with a chuckle in his voice. Riku raised his arms. "He sought a way to cross over into other worlds." He turned around, and faded; only Ansem stood there.

"Riku!" Sora and Kairi cried in unison.

Ansem smirked at them. "Don't bother. Your voices can no longer reach him where he is. His heart belongs again to darkness."

Dia rolled her eyes. "This has been going on for too long." She snapped. "Let's put a little life in this guy!"

"What? No! Not again!" Ansem clutched his head. "Guardian, protect me!"

Guardian appeared, wearing an amused expression. "I am the ultimate evil, do you know that? You obviously do not, seeing as you order me around as if I were your lap dog. You deserve retribution, so I shall merely watch."

Ansem took on a blissful look, Dia's powers finally getting a hold on his brain. He put his hands on either side of his jacket, like he was holding two overall belts. "I'm a lumberjack, and I'm okay! I sleep all night, and I work all day!"

"He's a lumberjack, and he's okay, he sleeps all night and he works all day!" Emma, Dia, and Jake sang.

"I cut down trees, I eat my lunch, I go to the lavatory!" Ansem declared. "On Wednesdays, I go shopping, and have buttered scones for tea!"

The real-worlders were trying their hardest not to laugh. "He cuts down trees, he eats his lunch, he goes to the lavatory! On Wednesdays, he goes shopping, and has buttered scones for tea! He's a lumberjack, and he's okay! He sleeps all night, and he works all day!"

"I cut down trees, I skip and jump, I like to press wild flowers! I put on women's clothing, then I hang around in bars!"

"He cuts down trees, he skips and jumps, he likes to press wild flowers! He puts on women's clothing, then he hangs around in bars! He's a lumberjack, and he's okay! He sleeps all night, and he works all day!"

Sora cracked up. "Now, THIS is entertainment!"

"I cut down trees, I wear high heels, suspenders, and a bra! I wish I were a girlie, just like my dear papa!"

"He cuts down trees, he wears high heels, suspenders, and a bra!"

Ansem got down on one knee, and belted out the last line. "I wish I were a girlie, just like my deeeeeaaaaar PAPAAAAAAAAAA!"

Dia picked up a handful of sand, and screeched, "Oh, Brevers! And I thought you were so butch!" She, Emma, and Jake proceeded to throw sand at Ansem. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi were utterly confused, but needed no excuse to throw things at their arch nemesis.

Emma held onto the Protect Stone. "And now for something completely different!" she announced. "STEEL ANGEL!" Her metal pole appeared. "Say hello to my little friend!"

Ansem, who had regained control of himself because Dia had lost interest, scoffed. "That is simply a bar of metal."

"Oh, is it?" Emma grinned, and bent the metal pole into the shape of a dog. "Look, it's a poodle!" Guardian and Ansem rolled their eyes. "Now, it's a hat!" She put it on her head. "Hmm? You don't like it? Then how about…" She bent the pole intricately, then pointed her creation at Ansem. "…a Tommy gun! BWAHAHAHAHA!" Pieces of the gun broke off into small, bullet-sized pieces and hurled themselves at the former king. Emma glanced back. "What, I don't get any help?"

"Oh. Attack!" Sora yelled, rallying his allies, excluding Kairi, to battle Ansem. Sooner than was expected, Ansem retreated into a large hole that had been made. "That was easy," the Keyblade Master commented.

Emma nodded and returned to normal. "Sora, you're the only one who's allowed to go in there, so we can't help you fight. There's a force field keeping us out." Sora nodded. "Good luck. And kick butt!"

Sora mockingly saluted his friend. "Aye-aye, ma'am!" he said, and ran into the pit. The Darkside Heartless appeared, his hair waving around. "Ugh, again? HYAH!"

"Go, Sora!" Jake cheered. He tugged Emma's sleeve. "Isn't Sora awesome, Emmie! He'll beat the Darkside in…huh? Emmie, one of your stones is glowing!" he observed.

Emma looked down; the Aero Stone was shimmering. "What's going on? It's not like I'm allowed to fight with Sora!"

"Try going through the force field," Kairi urged her. "It's worth a try."

 _What if I get hurt by the force field._  Emma raised an eyebrow.  _Wait, what am I saying? I've been getting hurt nonstop since I came into this game! Kairi's right. I should try._  She clenched her fists and teeth, then barreled straight ahead. More cheers came from behind her.  _Did I do it?_  Emma opened her eyes, only to see the inside of the pit.  _I did it! I made it through the force field!_ She waved at the rest of Sora and Co. on the other side of the field, then held onto the Aero Stone. "WIND'S MASK!"

Sora turned around. "Emma! I'm glad you're here! But I thought you said-"

Emma shook her head. "Never mind what I said. I'm here to help!" She held out her hand, and wind blew past her and Sora. They soared into the air. "Great, now it'll be easier to get the Darkside's weak spots!" Eventually, the Darkside fizzed and evaporated. "Okay, what's the next stone?" The Gravity Stone was glowing. "This one again? I just used it! I wanna use another one!"

"Deal with it," Sora told her. "Here comes Ansem."

Ansem and Guardian reappeared. "Yes, here comes Ansem," the latter sneered. "We underestimated you two, but we will not do so again."

"Same here!" Emma agreed. "ANTARES!" She turned purple again, and summoned her metal pole. "…" One good, firm smack sent Ansem at least three feet into the ground. She hit him a few more times, until only his head stuck out of the dark sand. "…" Emma looked back at Sora, and made some gestures.

Sora nodded. "Okay. RAGNAROK!" He swiped wildly at Ansem, then finished his combo by unleashing rays of light at him. He ran backwards the moment he was finished. "STRIKE RAID!" He tossed the Diamond Dust at Ansem, which flew back to Sora like a boomerang after the hit connected.

By the time Ansem had unearthed himself, all of his HP had been depleted. Guardian's eyes flashed, and Sora and Co. were sent to the area surrounding Kingdom Hearts. "Behold the endless abyss!" Ansem announced majestically. "Try as hard as you are able. You'll not find the smallest glimmer of light. Within it lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts! It's also where I shop every Wednesday. Y'know, to get buttered scones for tea. REAL-WORLDER!" Ansem snapped. Dia whistled innocently. "Oh, nevermind the speech. Darkness conquers all worlds!" Ansem's red eyes became hazy, and his jacket disappeared. He and Guardian merged together; Guardian grew to his true form and size, larger and spikier. Umbilical cord-looking things connected the two. A halberd appeared in Ansem's hand, and the World of Chaos fizzed into view. The whole figure was comprised of several different bosses; a snarling face was attached to the front, near the bottom. Waving artilleries planted theirselves in front of Ansem and Guardian. A pulsating bulb with a face sat in the center, protected by a force field. A trippy, rainbow-colored hole sucked everyone into it except for Sora. Ansem smirked at him. "Say goodbye, Keyblade Master."

… … …

"Why?" Emma whined. She and Kairi were standing in Room Core I. "Why am I stuck with the Mary-Sue?"

Kairi turned around, looking indignant. "Hey, my name's Kairi, not Mary-Sue!"

Emma just cast her a dull look, and both girls fell silent. For the next few minutes, Emma and Kairi sat on the floor, prodding the Shadows. "Finally," Emma exhaled. A soft light shone in the middle of the darkness, and Sora stepped out. "Hey."

Sora looked at all the Shadows. "Um…guys? Why didn't you fight any of the Heartless?"

"They weren't hurting us," Emma pointed out. "Just bumping into each other and tripping over our legs."

"I thought Heartless could see in the dark."

"They can. They're just stupid." Emma shrugged. "We'd better fight them, though, 'cause that's our ticket out of here."

Kairi ran around in circles, chanting, "Heart goes bye-bye! Heart goes bye-bye!" Suddenly, she put her hands on her throat. "Ow…I've been talking too much," Kairi rasped.

"I'll say," Emma mumbled to Sora. A Shadow snuck up behind the princess. "Hey, Kairi! Watch-" Kairi flailed her arms around, hitting the Shadow the majority of the time. It disappeared. Emma grinned and patted Kairi's shoulder. "That was great for a first-time fighter, Kairi!" Emma noted.

Sora grinned at Emma, whispering, "I'll bet you like her considerably more now that she's really holding her own weight, huh?"

"I can tolerate her."

… … …

Sora, Emma, and Kairi flew out of Room Core I. "Emma!" Kairi pointed at Emma's necklace. "One of your stones is glowing!"

Emma held the black stone in her index finger and thumb. "This must be the Stop Stone! The description of the spell is 'the power of time', so maybe I can use it to fast-forward to Ansem III!" Black mist appeared, and it soon became impossible to see anything. "JIKAN!"

When the black mist cleared, everyone was floating before Ansem, and many of the bosses in the World of Chaos had been cut off or blown up. "What are we doing here?" Dia asked. "There's still several bosses left!"

Emma had already returned to normal. "I used the Stop Stone to skip to Ansem III," she told her proudly. "Now, less talking, more beating the game!" This time, all of her stones started glowing. "What is this, a super attack?"

"Use it!" Jake squealed happily.

"PYROMANIAC! INAZUMA! YUKI NAIFU! NAOSU! WIND'S MASK! ANTARES! JIKAN! STEEL ANGEL!" No mist appeared, just a strong light. Ansem stopped all movement. He was surrounded by hunks of steel, and pressed to the ground. Aeroga was cast on Sora and Co., their hands set on fire, they were completely healed, and were moving at abnormal speeds.

"I love my job," Dia announced, setting Ansem's metal prison aflame, along with Sora, Donald, Goofy, Jake, and Kairi.

"ULTRA KATANA!" Emma's knife transformed into a five-foot-long sword, and plunged it into Ansem. The World of Chaos promptly exploded, and Guardian disappeared from view.

Ansem was the only enemy remaining; somewhere during the time it took for the World of Chaos to explode, he had put his jacket back on. "It is futile," he breathed heavily. "The Keyblade along cannot seal the door to darkness. Dia got a mischievous look in her eye and raised her hand, put Emma pushed it back down. "Kingdom Hearts! Fill me…with the power of darkness!" The door opened a bit, oozing darkness. "Supreme…darkness!"

"You're wrong!" Ansem turned around. Sora was glaring intently at him. "I know now, without a doubt, that Kingdom Hearts…is light!"

Sora was correct; Kingdom Hearts opened completely, and shone a powerful light at Ansem. "So…light! But why?" he asked the door in a plaintive tone. He stretched his arms out, and vanished. Kingdom Hearts closed.

Haiiro appeared, also breathing heavily. "Emma!"

Emma waved. "Haiiro! What are you doing here?" She glanced back at her friends, who were all in shock. "Don't worry, this is Ansem's replica, Haiiro. He's a good guy."

"Thank you, Emma." He bowed his head. "You know that if Kingdom Hearts is fully opened, an unstoppable amount of Heartless will spill out, correct?"

"Yeah," Emma confirmed, wincing.

Haiiro smiled warmly. "If you would like, I can halt the Heartless just long enough for you to rescue your friends."

Emma looked as if she was going to spring up and throw her arms around Haiiro. "Really? Thank you! Thank you so much, Haiiro!" Haiiro simply nodded. "Guys, help me pull open the door!" She landed on the piece of ground in front of Kingdom Hearts, and pulled one side of the door. "Come on!"

The other members of Sora and Co. looked at each other, then followed suit. Haiiro set up a wall of light nearby. "Your friends may now exit, but the Heartless cannot."

Emma put her eye up to the crack. "Riku! King Mickey!"

Riku's eye appeared on the other side. "Emma?" He laughed. "Guys! You came back!"

"Of course we did! Didn't I tell you that whenever Ansem tries to take you, we'll take you back?" Emma reminded him. "A friend of mine is here. He put up a barrier for the Heartless, so we can get you guys out of here! You have to push the door!"

"Thanks!" a higher voice, Mickey's, exclaimed from behind Riku. Finally, the door was open enough for Riku and Mickey to slip through. "You're Emma, right?" Mickey asked. Emma nodded. "Nice to meet you, Emma! Riku's told me about you." Riku turned red.

Emma bowed. "Nice to meet you too, Your Majesty."

Mickey held his hand out. "Aw, you don't need to be THAT formal." Emma smiled and shook his hand.

Riku walked over to Emma. "I owe you big time," he laughed. "It would've taken me a year to get back to Destiny Islands if it hadn't been for you, Dia, and Jake."

Emma shook her head. "It's no big deal."

"It IS a big deal!" Riku continued. He looked over at Sora and Mickey, who were locking Kingdom Hearts. "I'd be stuck in the basement of some weird castle. So I should be thanking you."

"Well, you're welcome, then!" Dia and Jake walked to Emma's side. "Haiiro, can you take us home now?"

"Us too," Sora added.

"And us!" Donald yelled.

Haiiro nodded. "You fighters have done excellently. You deserve to return to your homes."

Jake hopped up and down. "Wait a second, Mr. Replica Guy! We gotta say bye!" Haiiro nodded again. "We'll miss you guys! I didn't know for a really long time, but you're still our friends!"

Sora patted Jake's head. "We'll miss you guys too."

Riku smiled. "We'll be waiting for you." He looked at Emma. "And thanks again." He gave Emma a quick awkward hug. Sora raised his eyebrows suggestively, earning him an elbow jab from Riku. "Seeya."

Emma, Dia, and Jake waved. "Seeya," Emma replied. She and her real-world friends disappeared.

… … …

"Well, that was fun, huh, guys?" The trio reappeared in Emma's basement. Dia rubbed her neck. "Guys?"

Emma and Jake remained silent. "It'll be two years until we see them again," Emma murmured, a tear running down her cheek. "Two whole years. I can't believe it."

Jake wiped his nose on his hand. "Don't cry, Emmie, you're gonna make me cry too," he told her. However, he started bawling anyway.

Dia bit her lip. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes too. "I'm sure the wait won't be too bad…it's not like we'll never see them again. But…I miss them already," she admitted. She put her arms around the necks of the other two, and they trudged up the stairs, side-by-side.


End file.
